#manila ocean park open

[henryshaa]

Join us on a thrilling adventure through Manila Ocean Park and indulge in a feast fit for a king at Vikings. Plus, get an inside look at the visa application process and the disappointment of being denied in our latest travel vlog.

[darkskippychan]

Temp Work and the Dangers of GMO

By DarkSkippychan

Hello fans of my darkness.  I wrote this story for a fan of mine who decided to share herself with me when I was feeling down as a token of appreciation.  I hope you are able to afford to go back to university soon and things work out better for you.  This story contains Non Con, Sommnophilia/drugging, F/Monster, Tentacles, Forced Orgasms, and Impregnation.  Please do not read this story if any of these things may be triggering for you.  You have been warned.

Marin Biotech (the 3rd largest biotech firm in the world) had just opened its newest research campus two months ago in her local suburban town.  The new work campus provided the nearby community with an influx of much needed capital as well as fueling a new boom in housing, local shops, and (of course) jobs.  Their sprawling 43-acre campus was home to many lab facilities, greenhouses, and office buildings all catering to the global companies’ many research projects.

She had been lucky enough to land an afterhours temp job entering data from several of the many research groups and labs.  Her normal shift ran from 6pm to 2am, so she seldom saw other employees of the company. 

Some people would have found the work conditions lonely, but she actually enjoyed the solitude and freedom to work at her own pace.  Not to mention she got full access to the company’s well stocked employee lounge and was pretty much left alone to do her job with little to no supervision as long as she was completing her assigned tasks.

After parking her car in the near empty concrete employee parking garage, she hurried quickly to the main facilities building, her breath fogging out in front of her from the winter cold.  Fortunately, snow hadn’t started falling yet, but it always felt right around the corner.

The building was quiet, and she didn’t see another soul as she used her employee pass to enter the building.  She crossed the lobby and took the elevator down to basement floor 1 where the buildings main labs and her computer terminal awaited her.

Upon reaching her workstation, she quickly removed her coat, scarf, and gloves before the heat of the heavily climate-controlled basement overwhelmed her.  The company always kept it a bit warm down in the lab levels, and she wasn’t sure why.  She had learned to drink generous amounts of coffee to offset the urge to doze or sleep while she worked in the comfortable warmth.

The hard copy file ‘In box’ on her desk had several inch thick manila files of printed paper data for her to enter, but she noticed that her workload was about half of its usual size.  Thinking it over, she figured some of the researchers had decided to get a head start on the three-day weekend with Monday being a company holiday.

She settled down and woke her computer from sleep mode, as she fell into a rhythm and began to get down to work entering all the collected data.

Lab 3 (of 8) of Marin Biotech main research building was currently devoted to the development of new Genetically Modified Organisms (or GMO for short) mixing plant and animal DNA to create new fast growing and disease resistant strains of plants and animals.

The work was slow and tedious and led to hundreds if not thousands of non-viable products.  More recently work had begun to create mutations of promising strains by bombarding them with different forms of hard Alpha, Beta, and Gama radiation, hoping to create organisms with a more favorable outcome.

Among the newest batch in the lab was genetic specimen Beta-317.  The Beta series were all different Amazonian Jungle species (picked for their high growth rates and competitive nature) mixed with different ocean animals to try to cultivate their unique properties.  Beta-317 or B317 was specifically Cissus Amazonica also known as the Amazon Jungle Vine propagated and enhanced with spliced genes of the Enteroctopus dofleini or Giant Pacific Octopus for its RNA editing abilities and regeneration properties.

Work in Lab 3 had ended early in the day as the staff left early for their vaunted three-day weekend.  Multi spectrum bulbs illuminated the far quarter of the lab where the Beta specimens were constantly exposed to full spectrum light as to encourage their rapid growth.  Each GMO hybrid had also been placed in a nutrient rich water bath to provide each with the proper nutrients to sustain rapid growth.

Unseen by human eyes, experiment B317 quivered under the constant UV assault, before unfurling several of its thin appendages in its nutrient bath.  Roots quested out and dipped into its neighbors fluid baths, draining the fluids and growing in size and length from the additional nutrition. 

One appendage discovered the edge of the pool of light and B317 quivered as it began to pull itself out of the damaging brightness still growing from all the rich nutrients it had just absorbed from its neighbors.

A couple of hours had passed in the blink of an eye while she worked when she suddenly let out a big yawn.  Stretching, she decided it was time to take a break and get some coffee to help her finish her work shift.

The employee lounge was just down the hall from her workstation, the ecofriendly lights automatically turning on as she entered.  She picked up a cup and placed it in the coffee machine, then frowned as nothing happened after she hit the dispense button.  Looking at the illuminated control panel she saw the machine was displaying an error code.

She sighed loudly and instead selected some Lavender tea from the tea display beside the coffee machine.  A little hot water, milk, and honey later and her second drink of choice was ready.

As she headed back to her workstation, sipping her tea, she didn’t notice the quivering greenish form of B317 clinging to the ceiling down the hall behind her.

B317 had moved through the empty building hallways virtually silently despite its growing size, but not finding anything of interest until it had spotted the woman’s movement as she left the employee lounge.

Attracted to her heat and scent, it slowly began to follow her down the hall moving silently along the ceiling, vine-like tentacles spreading it’s weight evenly as it moved.

She sat down and began working again, taking a sip from her tea now and then.  After a while she suppressed another yawn just as she finished up her current folder.  She stretched again and leaned back in her chair deciding to close her eyes to rest for just a moment.  After all, she thought, her workload was light, and a little nap couldn’t hurt.

B317 found its prey not moving as it slipped past the door frame and into the room.  The only sound in the room was the gentle rhythmic breathing from the woman reclined in the chair, and the quiet hum of the lights and office equipment around the room.

Slowly it moved along the wall and down onto the office floor.  Moving carefully, it cautiously reached out several tentacle vines towards the sleeping woman.  Delicately they brushed across her warm skin, savoring the heat from her body, before stopping as she murmured in her sleep.  As she settled back down, they continued to move along her body exploring.

B317 was confused by the cooler non-living clothing around the body of the young woman, but it began to become more excited by the closeness of her warmth and scent.  More of its appendages began to move to the body of the woman, wrapping around her very gently as not to wake her.

As B317’s vine tentacles began to move up her body to explore the woman’s face she suddenly shifted and began to blink awake, unconsciously knowing something was wrong.

‘Whaaaa..’ she began, her brain still foggy and dazed from her short nap.

B317 struck out of instinct, jabbing a needle like barb into her neck and injecting her with a potent venom.  The woman cried out and her body tensed at the sudden prick of pain.  Her eyes shot open, then almost just as suddenly her eyes rolled back into her head, and her body went limp as the creature’s venom coursed through her system.

The newly born mutant vibrated in pleasure as its prey surrendered to its toxin.  Hungrily it began to tear through the young woman’s clothing, vine tentacles desperate to expose more of her soft warm flesh.

The woman moaned weakly as the mutant creature stripped her body roughly and she involuntarily shivered at her body’s sudden exposure.  Questing tentacles began to explore every inch of her body, causing her body to react of its own accord.

Her nipples began to harden as her body was roughly explored and goose flesh rose as it attempted to fend off the sudden change in temperature.  The creature lifted her whole body up off the chair, easily holding her weight aloft.  Her head fell back, causing her mouth to open, which B117 took as an invitation to explore.  One thick tentacle vine pushed into her mouth, and began to slide down her throat, enjoying her mouth’s warm wetness. 

Her heart began to beat faster, her body aware of the danger, even if she herself was not.  Warmth flowed over her as her body flushed and reacted to the creature’s touch.  Moistness gathered as her juices begain to drip from between her legs.

The creature’s body quivered, and a bulge began to form along its body before bursting forth into a new appendage from its central mass.  More of the mutant’s vine tentacles wrapped around the woman’s legs, spreading them wide while it held her in the air before it.

The new appendage moved towards her exposed womanhood drawn there by her musky scent and dripping juices.  It slowly began to rub along her slit, collecting her juices along its length and head before nuzzling against the opening of her sex.

A soft moan escaped her lips around the vine tentacle in her mouth that quickly grew to a cry as the creature suddenly forced itself inside her.  Her cries just as suddenly turning into soft whimpers as the large appendage slid deeper and deeper inside her, stopping only once reaching the opening to her womb.

Suddenly the creature began to roughly pound its length in and out of her, causing the woman to involuntarily orgasm after just a few thrust of its large phallus like vine tentacle. 

B117 greedily absorbed her juicy discharge and the rich nutrients it carried, not stopping for one moment to let the woman rest as it continued to forcefully fuck her.  The head of the appendage struck the entrance of her womb like an ancient battering ram trying to forcibly enter a besieged castle.

The woman’s whole-body shook, and her breast bounced with each hard thrust into her limp unresisting body.  Orgasm after orgasm ripped through her as the creature continued to have its way with her and absorb her rich juices.

Finally, after several minutes of attempting to force its way inside her, the creature was able to modify its breeding appendage.  The tip forming petals that it used to pry and force her cervix open, thus allowing its head to slip deep inside her womb and nestle inside her.

Her stomach began to bulge as it worked more and more of itself inside her, stretching her out birth canal out.  She moaned in unconscious protest as the mutant filled her body fuller and more completely than ever before.

B117 pulled the young woman close to it as it felt something deep inside itself grow, then detach, and begin to work itself along the length of its body and down into the appendage connecting them.

Slowly bit by bit, it contracted and moved the hard lump along its length.  Reaching the connection between them, the creature was stymied by the tightness of the woman’s body wrapped around its breeding tentacle vine.

Slowly it began to push, harder and harder, increasing the pressure until finally with a loud moan from the woman, her vaginal passage stretched out far enough to allow the hard mass to pass.  Using more and more pressure now, the creature continued to push the hard lump of its seed deep inside her.

Centimeter by centimeter the seed moved up her birth canal to be stopped once more as it reached the much smaller opening of her cervix.  Twisting and pushing, B117 thrashed the tip of its tentacle inside her womb, causing her to orgasm once more.   The sudden tensing and relaxing of her body with each pulse finally allowing the seed to continue millimeter by millimeter up inside her until finally it plopped into the warmth and wetness of her womb.

The woman’s whole body suddenly relaxed as the mutant finished implanting its seed inside her.  Sweat dripped from her limp body to be collected greedily by the vine tentacles enveloping her as they sucked at her skin.

Content for now, the creature labeled B117 began to move out of the room, holding its prize in a cocoon of vine tentacles above it.

The woman rose to conscious slowly, her mind still slow and foggy from the mutant venom the plant hybrid had injected her with.  Her whole body felt sore, and every muscle abused as if she had run several marathons or had climbed a couple of tall mountains.

She could feel the cool air of the room on her naked skin and her throat felt raw and dry.  Her eyes moved around the room, not recognizing where she was.

A very bright group of lights was over a table in one corner of the room.  All around her was a green vine type plant mass, covering what she could only assume were tables, chairs, and office equipment.  The plant covered the walls, and even parts of the ceiling, and seemed to pulse almost as if it were breathing.

As she looked around, a vine began to move towards her mouth.  She tried to turn her head, or to pull back, but she found she didn’t have the strength to even do that much.

As the tip of the vine tentacle opened her mouth and slid inside, it suddenly pulsed and began to disgorge a warm, thick, starchy tasting liquid into her mouth.  Disgusted the woman had no choice but to swallow the liquid or risk drowning in it.  After a minute or so the vine tentacle stopped and slid back and out of her mouth.

Even as she was disgusted by what had just happened, the woman was surprised to find that she felt better and a little stronger.  But before she could even begin to adapt to her situation, she felt something twitch inside her lower belly.

She looked down and her eyes went wide as she saw that her belly had grown and was now stretched out as if she were six months pregnant.  Her eyes darted around wildly, looking for something to help steady her mind with.

She saw a clock on the wall displaying the time and date.  Only a few hours had passed since she went to the lounge for her tea.  It seemed incomprehensible to her.

How could all this have happened in only a couple of hours?

Suddenly she felt a large movement inside her growing belly.  She managed to flop from her side onto her back as the first contraction hit her.  She cried out loudly and moaned as she felt something moving, fighting its way out of her.

‘Oh god… noOOOOOOOO!’ her hands each wrapping around a vine and squeezing hard as her legs spasmed.  The vines felt almost like a kind hard rubber with very little give in them as she panted and struggled with the new life growing inside her trying to be born.

Sweat covered her entire body as she panted and felt the organism inside her moving towards its birth and freedom.  She cried out again as another contraction helped to move it along.  Two small vine tentacles burst from the slit of her red swollen sex and began to wrap themselves around her thighs, giving the creature additional purchase to pull itself out of its mother.

She came then, hard and long despite everything, the pain and pleasure signals mixed up and scrambled in her brain.  The hard rubbery body of the birthing creature pushing hard against her G spot as it pulled itself out of her, raping her from the inside out.

With a final push she collapsed back against the labs floor, totally spent.  Her eyes fluttered as she fought to stay conscious despite the struggle of birthing the creature and her ordeal. 

The newborn creature began to slide up its mother’s body, two vine tentacles questing for the milk already dripping from her nipples.  Attaching themselves to her hard nipples, they began to suck greedily on their mother’s breasts, nourishing itself on her milk and already beginning to grow.

B117 began to stir once more.  Vine tentacles quested out for the young woman’s warm sweat covered body once again.  After all, her womb was now empty and available, and it had a full three-day weekend to procreate and progenerate…

As the young woman began to slip back into unconsciousness, she felt the touch of B117 along her body once more and wondered if taking the temp job had actually been such a good idea���.

I hope you enjoyed my little dark story.  Thanks for reading and congratulations for making it this far.  If you did in fact enjoy the story, please feel free to buy me a coffee or send me a nude or two.  Nudes nourish my soul and fuel my imagination.  Till next time friends, stay dark and weird.  DarkSkippychan Feb/2024

[elstevo]

Pump-Action Summer - A Dixon & Dong Joint

The home on Gonád Road came up in real estate listings as a villa or sometimes a compound. At ground level, a handful of separate structures connected by basements, bridges, and verandas formed a horseshoe around the gardens and swimming pool. The main house stood three stories tall including the attic which opened into a sun room which opened onto a rooftop patio. Somewhere inside were a half-dozen bedroom suites, a commercial-grade kitchen, a private movie theatre, and a highly profitable laboratory. The DiFrodesiac twins knew all this. Their research lay open on their laps as they surveilled the place.

Besides every estate listing, public document, and news clipping for the house going back thirty years, they had manila folders for all four of the occupants, the three members of the Humongous family, as well as their long-time manservant Grone. Jonathan Pritchard Humongous (MS, MSc, PhD) and Adelia Forsythe-Clicks (MA, MSc) were soon to celebrate twenty-eight years of marriage and recently held a party for their daughter Ethel’s twenty-fifth birthday. Ms. Forsythe-Clicks’s architectural firm brought in most of the bacon although Dr. Humongous’s scientific revenue should not be sneezed at. Her buildings drove up rents in every major skyline worldwide, and his patents were the crown jewels of industrial espionage. Ethel Humongous (MS, multiple Bango Award winner) shared some of her father’s patents, held two of her own, and made spectacular erotic cinema. The twins had seen her films and predictably not reacted.

The front door to the house swung sharply open, and Ethel Humongous bounded out. She was evenly caramel-toned from head to foot, with eyes as gold as her hair, and small all over except where it paid better to be large. Her breasts were handsome in the archaic sense, and she had never groomed her thatch. No one had ever asked her to; it was immaculate. She was otherwise physically unremarkable yet utterly superb in terms of personality. No one had ever disliked Ethel except at a distance, and the twins were not far enough away, parked as they were just across the street in their inconspicuous hire car. They both felt an alien stirring in their deficient loins and, with perfect synchronicity, wiggled uncomfortably.

Proximity to Ethel turned a lens on something they’d only understood at an academic level and forced on them personal experience of the prurient, albeit as fleeting as perfume from a passing gondola. What had been a purely mercenary assignment immediately became blood vendetta. The twin riding shotgun turned and reached for the violin case on the back seat, but his brother’s gentle hand on his shoulder stopped him. True, there would be time later for brutale delicto. For now, they still had a tail job to perform, and the DiFrodesiacs were nothing if not dedicated to a good tailing.

Ethel Humongous pulled her sexy little roadster out onto the road, and the twins followed at a professional distance. She led them down the long, empty roads of the suburban hills into downtown California Beach. Traffic thickened. The twins closed the distance of their tail because they could and because they had to. They drove and drove. Ethel stopped at corner stores, clothes shops, delis, and everywhere else up and down the city. She was an easy tail. She obeyed every traffic law and kept a good amount under the speed limit, typical of a youth out to enjoy their salad days in an open-top car in summer, the blue skies overhead and ocean breezes in their hair.

Down along the beachfront, though, she broke the pattern. At a signal turning red from amber, she accelerated hard to beat the light. Ethel’s roadster leapt through the intersection and swung left. The low chassis leaned hard on the right-hand springs as the actor at the wheel pushed the envelope. Both twins felt a surging anxiety. Had she made them? They shared a quick glance that communicated an entire debate. They relaxed. There was no way this bubbly little girl had made them, no chance she was giving them the runaround. They were two of the best. They were focused on their job, unrelenting agents undistracted by carnal trinkets like handjobs or butt stuff. Their perfect record ran longer than that girl had been alive.

The light changed, and they roared around the corner. They scanned the road ahead for their quarry. Surf shacks, convenience stores, taco stands, and taco stands, and taco stands passed by on either side. Every strand of beautiful person seemed to be out and enjoying the day.

Neither twin noticed a sexy little roadster slip into traffic behind them, Ethel Humongous at the wheel, microcamera in hand.

[fevzenero]

Manila Adventure with my Cousin

The date is 2023-01-21. My cousin from Davao landed in Manila at around 0550AM. I was under the impression that she will arrive here late since airlines here tend to depart late. Good thing I was already prepared an hour before I received her arrival message.

Picked her up at the arrival area at around 0640AM. We then headed directly to Manila to visit the National Museum. She always wanted to visit that place and this was her chance. We went there way too early as there was no parking attendant present when we arrived. We parked at the Manila Ocean Park Pay Parking.

The museum was kind of a long way from where we parked but we did get to stroll at Luneta Park before arriving there. It was a bit cloudy and sunny during our stroll. There were a number of people there early in the morning for walks and/or jogging. Typical place for those kind of activities in this kind of place.

During our stroll, we get to check out the Chinese Garden. I believe there were two gardens to visit here and the other one was the Japanese Garden. We were not able to visit the the other one since we kind of took our time strolling in the Chinese Garden and it was nearly opening time for the museum.

As we resumed our walk to the museum, we had to take cover since it rained a little. It was still sunny and partly cloudy that time. Good thing it was very short since we still had a long way to our destination. 

Apparently, we arrived way too early at National Museum of Natural History. We still had 30 minutes of spare time before we are allowed to enter the place. We had nothing to do so we sat there at the gates, waiting for it to open. This church below is in front of the museum.

10 minutes in to waiting, we decided to check the other two museums near Natural History. I was browsing through google maps and saw National Museum of Antropolgy and National Museum of Fine Arts are both walking distance from Natural History. We just went ahead to the other museums to kill time.

We first visited the nearest one, National Museum of Antropology. We only have a few minutes to wait for it to open and there are a few people already waiting at the gates. There is a shade at the entrance where we can stay and wait.

This was actually my first time visiting the place. Or I may have, but can’t really remember. I remember visiting a museum when I was kid, probably during my grade school days. I also remember visiting a planetarium, where there is a huge room there where everyone could sit and view the show from the ceiling where stars and galaxies are being flashed with back ground music. Kind of like watching a movie with a projector but more on stars and stuff.

I was hoping to see stuff from the old times but most of the items displayed are like artwork, made by known artists I suppose, that were inspired by the old times. There were old clay or stone potteries displayed so I guess it is still considered as what it is. I sincerely was unsure if the items displayed were the ones that should be or if all of them were just for educational purposes.

We then went out to visit the National Museum of Fine Arts. So with this place, I can say that what is displayed here is as expected in general (art) but not what I expect. Or maybe I have a wrong idea of National Museums. The same as with the previous museum, the items displayed are artworks inspired by the old times, people, places and events.

I was looking for old paintings like the ones made from that era. There were a few old paintings I guess but not that old as I wanted to see. Kind of a let down but still it was an experience to see those paintings displayed that portrayed the old times.

Half way through, I suggested to my cousin that we should part ways so that she could roam around freely and not match my pace, since I am already feeling tired. Originally, she was to come to Manila alone and not tell a soul so roaming around this place alone would be a good idea. We parted and I walked to a couple of the rooms and finally decided to go back to the entrance and find a spot to rest. I was on the verge of sleeping that she was able to find where I was. She was able to visit all the rooms in that short period of time. So much for me trying to get a rest. HAHAHA!

After Fine Arts, we then went back to the National Museum of Natural History where we really wanted to go in the first place. 

Coming in, we were greeted by the structure of what we always see in the internet. Kind of an amazing structure since seeing it personally is different from seeing it in the internet.

Unfortunately, this time I was not able to roam around since I got really tired from all that walking. While sitting there, I was able to take good look at the place. I wanted to try roaming around but was really tired so sitting this one out is a good idea. We still have another place to visit after this one.

I let my cousin roam around the place on her own. I told her to take care and know where to find me when she finishes. My cousin was able to capture me resting on the bench. HAHAHA!

After Natural History, we are to visit Fort Santiago. Another place that she wanted to visit for a long time. There were a number of times that she mentioned this before with me so it will finally come true.

So its a long walk again from the National Museum to Manila Ocean Park Pay Parking. Feeling really tired but the rest on Natural History did help a lot to get some of that energy needed for the walk on the way back.

Mai wanted to eat lunch before we proceed. Good thing there was a restaurant half way of the route to the parking area. We were to eat there before going to the museum but it was already packed with a lot of people but on our way back it seems that the number decreased as we were able to line in and take our order.

This is me in the left side and my cousin, Mai on the right. She looks like me but a girl version, HAHAHA!

When we arrived at the parking area, there was an attendant present. We arrived at around 0730AM and there was no one there. We thought it was free but originally we knew that it was paid parking area. We talked to the attendant and said it was fine and gave us the ticket needed. Unfortunately, I was not able to take a picture or video of the parking. It is a good parking spot. Maybe I will be able to take a picture next time.

We then went to Fort Santiago and surprisingly the traffic was not bad, maybe because its the Chinese New Year. We parked at the Fort Santiago Pay Parking which is just beside the entrance of the Fort Santiago so it was so easy to go back and forth, if ever I went along with Mai.

Unfortunately, this time I decided to stay behind in the parking lot as I already am exhausted. My cousin seems to be accustomed to walking for long periods of time as I can see her still have so much energy walking away from where I was. HAHAHA!

Since I got nothing else to do, might as well look for something to eat and drink. I searched for the nearest convenience store and it was like two or three blocks away, a far walk for someone exhausted. But I had nothing to do and to kill time, went on ahead to look for the store. I had google maps with me but still got lost looking for it and finally found it after 30 minutes as I was walking very slow. Took me that long for a walk to two or three blocks.

I got back at the parking spot and consumed what I had bought from the store. After that, I tried to rest as I thought my cousin won’t be back for an hour or so.

After a few minutes, I received a message from Mai that she’s already done and is already coming back. I was jaw dropped when I read the message as I just went to the store to buy something and got lost and that whole time she already finished roaming the place.

We both laughed when I shared what had happened and it only took her that amount of time to finish what she had to do.

I still have time to do one last Kuya duty before the day ends. That was to take her to Binondo as she has to meet with her friend there. But first I had to take her to the hotel as she needs to check in for the day. The hotel is located in Pasay and it is a long way ride from the Fort Santiago. Surprisingly, traffic was still not bad given that it is a weekend and also a holiday.

I dropped her off at the hotel and went back home to change clothes and switch to my motorcycle as I would assume that traffic will be bad in the late afternoon since it’s the Chinese New Year and the place where we’re going is Binondo.

Binondo was packed with people as they were to celebrate the Chinese New Year. I dropped her near the World Trade Exchange Tower and waited for her friend to pick her up, just to be sure. I think both of them will try to celebrate the Chinese New Year after her friend’s shift at work.

[mischiefapprentice]

Lockdown Relationships

A/N: This short story is my entry for my school's first annual Valentine's Creative Writing contest. It got featured, and I am more than honored to share this one with you all!

March 12, 2020

“Love?” “Yes, darling?” “I can’t travel back to Los Angeles. Lockdown’s to begin on the day of my flight.”

I was supposed to go back to Los Angeles, California on March 13 after two months of my vacation here in Manila. My boyfriend has been constantly calling me, excitement lacing his voice as he waits for me to get home in his arms after two months of being oceans away from each other. He is an actor, and I am his personal assistant up until now. Our relationship may have flakked with his fans, but it didn’t matter to him. All he knew was: he loves me to the moon and back. I’m Reine Gwendolyn Simmons, and you can call me Reine.

As I was saying, I was supposed to be on my flight back to Los Angeles the next day. All my bags were packed, my passport and plane tickets are already secure in my small Louis Vuitton bag, and my heart cannot wait to see my lifeline again. However, hearing the president planning to implement travel bans on the day made my hopes of getting back as soon as I can impossible.

“Can’t it be moved tonight? I’ll ask Matty to arrange a plane ticket for you, or I can ask for my private plane to be sent there to fetch you.” “It can’t be moved; all plane flights for tonight are full.” “Are you really sure?” “Dane, just got straight to the point.”

“Well, I might just have cancelled your flight tomorrow and the plane is on the way to the airport now…”

That’s my boyfriend. He’d always find a way through things, especially if it’s about me. He has done that many times before; he’ll always see to it that I’d be safe and home on time, and most of all, he’d make sure to call me despite the time differences here. Daniel loves me so much that he would give everything just to see that I’m happy. Seeing that there is no way out of this fiasco he did, I decided to go and get on the plane before midnight.

📷

April 2020

I tested positive for COVID-19.

Aside from being my boyfriend’s personal assistant, I also worked as a nurse in one of the quarantine centers in Los Angeles. Daniel and I had a little misunderstanding with this matter, since it means I have to be far from him and he won’t get to see me everyday. He also knows of my respiratory problems, making me vulnerable to the virus too. Luckily, Daniel didn’t get the virus, and he’s safe at home.

“Babe, are you getting any better?” “Little by little, but I need to recover more.” “They could have provided more PPEs for nurses like you, love. Especially you.”

Yes. They don’t have enough Personal Protective Equipment for us. That is also the reason why he wouldn’t want me to go apply as a nurse during this time. My head nurse also warned me about my high risks of getting the virus, but I still said yes. It was a sworn duty that I must complete until I resign or retire. I always put others first before myself, that’s why I became a nurse.

His eyes showed sadness as we talked through FaceTime. He always feared that one day, I’d be gone from him forever. He’d always tell me that it’s fine that I’d be with another guy if we break up, but he’ll never get over my death. It would be the most tragic day for him. Knowing that low chances of survival await me, I’m now reflecting whether to end our relationship of two years or still let him love me until my last breath. I want to spare him of the pains of heartbreak from my death, knowing that my passing will be his end too.

Weeks have passed, and I feel my body slowly deteriorating. It’s as if death’s stark shadow looms over my weakening body as the virus slowly defeats my immunity. I tried to keep up my hopes of surviving this high, knowing that Daniel also keeps his hopes up that I will get through this. Wondering if I told him about me wanting to end our relationship? Yes, I did tell him about it, and he is not really happy with it. Persuading him that I am doing this for him, he never bought it. He insisted that he’d love me until my last day albeit the pains of losing me will swallow him alive.

“Darling, please. I’m not giving up on us just because of this.” He tells me as tears fall on his face. “I want to spare you from the pain when I die, Daniel.” I retort, tears also streaming down as I feel my heart tear into pieces. “I don’t want you staying single because of me. You need to live your life, at least for me.” “I don’t care if I’d suffer heartbreak because you are gone. Just let me love you until your last breath, please.”

📷

November 28, 2020

Having recovered from the virus after 3 months, I was discharged from the hospital I am confined in. July 2020 was the highlight of our relationship; Daniel assured me every single day that he loves me, and he is never giving up on us despite my low chances of surviving this disease. During those three months, he’d always give me a call, despite time differences. He’d be in Seoul, Korea; or in Prague, Czech Republic. He’d also be in Michigan with his family and his Golden Retriever, Marry. There was even a time he tried to visit me before he flew to Korea.

“Oops, remember: two meters away from me, darling.” I reminded him as he was about to hug me. Him being a whiny guy, he’d show me that pout that made me fall for his plans. “I missed hugging you!” He reasons out, his arms crossed on his chest. “Well, I missed those teddy bear hugs of yours, but we have to follow protocols.” I shrug my shoulders.

This very day, I am now finally free from the dangers and tribulations of the quarantine center. My head nurse decided it’s time for me to rest, since it was contractual work for me. I have agreed to work for them from March 2020 up until November 2020. Today is also the day my beloved man was born, and his manager has been planning my return as a surprise. But turns out, I am the one to be surprised.

As soon as I got home from the center and had completed the quarantine on the hotel for nurses like me, Matthew brought me to the golf course park where Daniel and his friend Martin would go to and play golf. Roscoe greeted me with the cutest smile he could muster, leading me to my boyfriend with a quick run. My eyes water up as Daniel looks at me with a smile, waiting for me to come close. Bent down on one knee, he asked me the most crucial question I never thought he’d ask me.

📷

February 15, 2021

Today’s the day. After two months of preparing for the biggest day of our lives, I now change my surname to his. I say we’d marry as soon as the vaccines come, he says we marry on the day after Valentine’s day. Reasoning that vaccines would take long, and he can’t wait that long to marry me, we agreed to marry on this day. Now wearing the white dress that every girl would dream to wear on the day of their wedding, I now patiently wait for the wedding bells to ring, signalling that I enter the church and walk on the aisle that led to the man who never gave up on me. White flowers filling my very own bridal bouquet which shows the purity of my intentions and of my entire being, I am more than ready and happy to open the new chapter of my life alongside him. Tears of happiness stream down on both of our faces as I march alongside my parents to the altar where he waits.

If there is one thing that our love taught and reminded us, it is our patience, trust and determination that led us to this. There might have been points in our life that challenged how strong our love is for each other, we still stepped through those and let the love we have beat everything that comes our way.

[ownworldresident]

We Are Our Own Heroes. Chapter Four: Tentative

Book: The Royal Romance, seven years post-TRR

Premise: Six years after a tragic loss, Liam and his adopted daughter meet Cassandra, an artist with her own troubled past, and the three find in each other the friend they never knew they needed.

Disclaimer: Setting and some characters belong to Pixelberry. I am just borrowing them and will return them when they feel better.

Themes: found family, (power of) friendship, healing

The Master Masterlist (link)  |  Our Own Heroes Masterlist (link)

Liam

“We’ve completed the background check you asked for, Sir.” Bastien announced from the door of Liam’s study. Liam sighed, and looked up.

“And?”

Bastien held up a manila folder. The guilt and uncertainty he felt mixed with relief at how thin it was.

“There is nothing to suggest Miss Rice has any harmful intentions.” He entered the study and placed the folder carefully on Liam’s desk. “She is Cordonian, originally from Portavira, studied fine arts and theatre abroad, and works as a temp and freelance ghostwriter for—”

“That’s enough, Bastien,” Liam interrupted. “I didn’t ask for this to pry into her private life. I just want to know whether I can trust her.” He winced at the double standard he was presenting; this wasn’t just curiosity, he reminded himself, it was assurance he and Emily would be safe. Blind trust wasn’t something he could afford.

“I believe so,” his bodyguard said, more conversationally. “Her only criminal records are parking tickets.”

Liam smiled. That was common enough. There were a lot of questions he would have liked answers to; where she had studied and why, what kind of art did she pursue, where was her family…

“Does she…” Liam’s brow creased as he considered the question, then mentally apologised to Cassie for the invasion. “Are there are partners or ex partners that could provide some risks?”

“None.” Bastien said, and when Liam looked up at him, his bodyguard shrugged.

Deciding not to pry further, Liam ended the discussion.

“If you believe she can be trusted, then I believe you.” Liam lifted the folder, removed the clips, and opened a cupboard to retrieve his shredder.

Cassie

Cassandra screamed.

The lonely peak she stood upon absorbed it and the sky answered with a sheet of lightning and close crack of thunder. Beyond the waves below the peak there was rain coming, and not a day too soon. The electricity in the heavy air vibrated through her very bones. She stamped her foot down on the craggy outcrop, balled her fists tight, and screamed again.

When the front hit, it was with a rush of cold air that buffeted her face. White peaks of the restless ocean splayed before her. They became dotted with heavy rain; she stared hard to commit the feeling and energy to memory, to burn it into her mind. There was so much anger there, but she didn't know whether it was her or the vengeance of the skies that conspired to keep her darkness.

The rain crested the peak, and for a lightning filled moment Cassandra raised her face to the broken skies with eyes shut and arms flung wide. Then thunder cracked around her, rolling against her ears, and, heart pounding, she fled.

By the time the world was awake, Cassie was heaving long breaths in front of her easel. The echo of the storm outside resonated on the canvas, with a vast expanse of swirling masses that floated at the edge of being distinguishable things.

She grinned, stepping back from her new painting. It was a story she was trying to tell, she was sure, and this part was more darkness in form than of it.

---

Cassie

Above the main city were lines of terraces stacked up onside a low mountain. Parting the upper and lower levels was an open space more familiar to locals than tourists, overlooking the main city and the bay. Cassie stood at the edge of the cobbled space, lost to the world as she stared over her city. It wasn’t the pier or the outcrop, but the dark swirling storm was as beautiful here as it would be there. There were several perfect views here for painting, in fact. Lifting her hands to make a rough square with her thumbs and forefingers and squeezing one eye shut, she imagined the image captured from different angles. Too perfect. This might be a real place, but even the organic, eclectic mix of buildings with colourful rooves… set on a backdrop of a low grey sky… there wasn’t enough grit or imperfection to translate.

Leaning her elbows against the half wall, she tried to imagine the view with a fire or collapsed building, something to put more conflict in the image. That dream kept her occupied while she waited.

“Cassie!” A young voice she knew called out behind her, and she turned to see Emily running to meet her. The girl stopped a few feet away and Cassie stood to attention to salute her.

“Hey, Em,” she said as Emily saluted her in return, “I like your shirt.” She nodded at the image of an open ocean and a few clouds. Emily looked down, then up again.

“Thanks.” Emily turned back as Liam reached them, smiling when she saw that he was.

“I hope we didn’t keep you waiting.” He smiled, but his posture was stiff. Cassie wondered what was going on behind it. Maybe she was reading too far into things.

“Not at all,” she replied, energy closer to that of Emily than of Liam. “I arrived early anyway.”

“Good.” Liam lifted an arm to point down the street. “There’s a really nice café down this way. I thought we could get lunch? If the weather holds, we might be able to sit outside.”

“Sounds perfect.” Cassie kept an eye on Emily as they walked. She looked back every so often at her father. Liam didn’t seem phased by the habit, instead walking with an absent half smile for the first part of their walk.

“How was your week?” Cassie asked after a time, not sure where else to start. Liam exhaled, and turned to her.

“Busy,” he said, still smiling, and didn’t give her much more than that.

At the café, which was more of a restaurant, Emily chose a table beneath an outdoor awning. She bee-lined for the tree-shaded playground adjacent with the decisiveness of a child who played on her own a lot. Liam watched her for a moment, and Cassie noted the dark crescents beneath his eyes.

“Thank you for meeting us,” Liam said after a time, looking over at her. His smile was tired but a little more relaxed. It was an interesting study to watch them, Cassie thought, seeing how they interacted in public, and she wondered if they were much less guarded behind closed doors.

“I seem to remember me asking you first.” She stretched, warm in the sun. “I should be thanking you for reaching out.”

Liam laughed, short and genuine, then nodded. “Why did you reach out?”

“I like your daughter, and you seem nice.” Cassie shrugged, then grinned. “Why did you?” Saved from having to answer by the arrival of their food, Liam thanked the server, and called Emily over. When the ball of energy arrived and they started eating, Cassie found herself plagued by questions from her about what she did and who she was and offered as many answers as she could. When Emily discovered she was an artist, she became more interested in that than her food.

“Would you like to see some of my work?” Cassie asked, already pulling the ever-present sketchbook from her bag and handing it over. Emily reached for it, nodding profusely.

“Yes please!”

“Fingers.” Liam reminded her, and Emily glanced at her hands, wiped the sauce from them with a napkin, then took the sketchbook and started flipping through.

“I wish I could draw…” she commented absentmindedly as she flipped through the pages. Liam looked surprised, and Cassie wondered whether she had expressed that wish before.

“I could teach you, if you like,” she said, and Emily looked up, grinning.

“Thank you!” She glanced at her father, who nodded, smiling, then turned back to the pages. Liam began to speak but was cut off by Emily’s laugh.

“You drew Drake?” Emily looked up again, wide-eyed. Cassie shrugged. She had written the man’s name in the corner of the sketch.

“I met him at a bar the other day.”

“His face looks exactly right.” Emily lifted the page for Liam to see. “Doesn’t he?”

“Do you know him?” Cassie frowned as Liam inspected the page.

“Very well.”

“Are you dating him?” Emily’s innocent question caught her off-guard, and both of them sent her questioning looks, though Liam’s was tinged with amusement.

“Definitely not.” She reached for her coffee, then realised how forceful her answer had been, and added, “He seems like a nice guy, but no.”

Far from relaxing, Liam seemed even more surprised, and looked away from her when she caught his eye, which confused her. Had she given the wrong impression? If he was offended he would say something, she believed him frank enough for that. Maybe not in front of Emily.

As soon as the latter had finished her food and waited the several fidgety minutes that her father requested, she raced off to the playground again, scaling the climbing frame with ease and dancing across the top as if she’d been born there.

“Dating?” Cassie asked Liam for clarification.

“She gets some… interesting information from her school friends. And movies don’t help either.” He shrugged, but there was a little unease in his manner.

“Must bring up some interesting discussions.”

“Sometimes.” He smiled, then frowned, focused on something on Cassie’s shirt. “Your necklace.”

Cassie looked down to see that the small chain had come free from her shirt, and reached up to touch the smooth diamond shaped flag: black, grey, white and purple.

“Do you know it?”

“I do.” He smiled, nodded as if with some new understanding, and sat back.

Her orientation wasn’t something she had come prepared to openly discuss, so she was glad Liam was aware of the community. She tucked the flag back beneath her shirt and let the subject end there.

Left alone with Liam, it wasn’t lost on her that barely any of their conversation centred on him as a person. She had no trouble being open about most parts of herself, and they talked about general topics, but Liam only spoke of things she could discover easily enough in a newspaper, or seemed near inconsequential to disclose.

They parted in the middle of the afternoon, when Emily returned, exhausted, to bury her face in Liam’s side. Taking that as a queue to let the girl go home and rest, they walked back to where they had met up, Emily half leaning on Liam, though Cassie half suspected it was for dramatic effect.

Cassandra

Cassie spent the next few days busy and inspired, her confidence bolstered by her time with Liam and Emily. The large canvas was still blank, but she had moved it behind a couple of finished pieces and was focusing on the smaller ones, less daunted by it being empty. An overcast day had cast some more drama over the beach she frequented, and she had spent some time photographing it to paint at home and letting the salty wind and light rain sink into her to remember the feeling.

She didn’t see Liam at Emily’s training, but did see him at the game, and they had agreed to meet afterwards. Her team didn’t win, which left them a little downhearted after three straight victories but didn’t curb Cassie’s optimism. They left much less dejected, and while she packed up she ran through ways to help them in their next training session. Liam and Emily met her outside.

“Ready?” asked Liam, and the lower guard in his smile heightened Cassie’s spirits as she nodded in response. Emily dragged her feet, and Cassie knelt to face her.

“You tried your best, Em, right up till the end, and that takes a lot of courage.” She ducked her head a little to Emily’s tired, downcast face. “There will always be losses. What matters most is how we come back from them.”

Emily’s frown lifted into a tiny smile. “That’s what Dad said.”

Cassie looked up to Liam, whose eyes crinkled as he watched them. “That’s because your dad is a very wise man.” She stood. “Isn’t that right?”

“Yes.” Emily turned back to Liam, smiling again.

“You too, Panda.” He turned toward the emptying car park. “Ready for that movie?”

Nodding, Emily started again toward the car.

“Wherever your mother is now, I’m sure she would be very proud.”

Cassie knew it was a mistake the moment she said it. Emily stopped, and though Cassie couldn’t see her face, she felt the shock. Liam schooled a patient expression, approached Emily and squeezed her hand. She looked up to him.

“Dad?”

“It’s okay, Emily.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, voice low and soothing. “I’m here.”

“I’m sorry.” Cassie clapped a hand over her mouth, eyes darting between the two as her heart dropped. “I shouldn’t have said… I’m sorry…”

Liam turned to her now. “Give us a few minutes?”

Cassie nodded, staying back from the two and wringing her hands. The mask of Emily’s father broke when they made eye contact and some of the pain seeped through. Familiar pain. Liam picked up his daughter and walked away.

The official story read that Emily was Liam’s god-daughter, and he had taken her in after her parents had died in an accident. It explained the hypersensitivity to loud noises Emily had displayed in the past and perhaps her need to keep Liam within her sight.

Around the time the media excitement had been dying down, Cassie arrived back from studying abroad. She had followed the attempt on Liam’s life, the ensuing turmoil, and a bit about Emily’s sudden appearance, but hadn’t realised how much Cordonia had been obsessed with it until she landed. It had seemed disproportionate to the tragic circumstance, confirmed when Liam gave a public statement reaffirming some facts and refuting a few less accurate reports, and requesting privacy. Cassie’s friend had been disappointed, but it had been a long time since they had spoken.

——

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[downwiththeficness]

A Need So Great-Chapter 17

Summary: Eva Moore is assigned to work the last year of her contract with the DEA in Colombia. She just wants to get to the end of her tenure, but she keeps getting drawn further into a string of murders in the city. It isn’t long before she’s forced to face the ghosts of her past.

Word Count: ~3,700

Warnings: None

A/N: For the purposes of this story, Carrillo isn’t married--or, if you like, divorced. A/B/O dynamics are prevalent, and they come with their own warning. The overall rating for this story is Explicit, although not every chapter will contain adult themes.

Taglist: @dirtynerdy98 @1zashreena1 @heresathreebee @deliciouslyclassytrash @maybege @kid-from-new-zealand @clydesducktape @revolution-starter @autumnleaves1991-blog @jedi-mando @buckysalefty @anaeve

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8.5, 9, 10, 10.5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21

They punished him when he got back. He’d been gone for almost two weeks—twelve days—and they took it out on him the second he returned. His work hours lengthened until he was leaving before the sun came up and coming home after midnight. Sometimes he’d key into her apartment, falling into bed next to her with his uniform still on, boots kicked off next to the door.

Eva kept food wrapped in plastic in the fridge for him, pulled his belt free from the loops and at least got his button up off when he was too tired to do it for himself. When she did see him, on the occasions he set foot in the embassy, there were dark circles under his eyes.

Still, he didn’t complain. Not one word. Eva’s own workload had grown, having to pick up all the things that had been sitting on her desk. But, Javier and Steve had taken it upon themselves to do a little when they could. Connie would sometimes bring her lunch and they would chat, Eva having to forgo their usual work out nights until she got caught up.

And still, he seemed to just...take it from them. This went on for almost a month before she said anything. The conversation had been short, brusque in a way that he normally wasn’t, the stress peeking out from behind strained eyes. She didn’t say anything after that.

Eva gave him comfort where she could. She set the coffee maker to an earlier time and made sure that he had a travel mug sitting beside it every morning. She washed the uniforms he sometimes left behind, even going so far as to iron his undershirt and fold it neatly atop the pile on the dresser. This was about the extent of her ability to help and it ate at her.

After the first month, he got a day off and spent most of it asleep, or close to it. He’d crawled in next to her after showering, pulling her into his chest before dropping off into unconsciousness. When she’d woken the next day, he was still asleep.  When she checked in with him mid-morning, he was snoring softly, one arm reaching across the bed to the place where she’d been.

Finally, when lunchtime slipped by, Eva roused him and forced him to come out and eat a little. He did so mechanically, his eyes unfocused. She maneuvered him to lay on the couch after that, pulling all the curtains in her living room closed, the TV at a low volume.

They spent most of the day like this, vegetating on the couch. And then, when the evening came, Eva put more food in him and sent him to bed early while she worked on a few files she’d brought home from the office. The next morning, he’d gone in early, as he had to the month previous, and she didn’t see him for three days.

This went on for another month before the higher ups started to let off. By that time, he’d been worked nearly to the ground and she could see the beginning of burn out start to set in. Eva encouraged him to rest on the days he had off, doing what she could to bring back the determined set of his jaw when he went about his work.

And, when he seemed to come back to his normal self, she set up a dinner at a nice restaurant with Connie and Steve. They worked in tandem to keep the conversation from flowing back into office talk, but weren’t entirely successful.

“I got those photos developed,” Steve said a little too casually. “I have ‘em if you want to take a look.”

Connie took a disdainful sip of her wine, “I told him not to bring them, but he insisted.”

Eva looked at Horacio, who was carefully gauging her reaction. With a shrug, she reached over the table and flicked her fingers at him, indicating that he should hand them over. He leaned down and pulled a manila folder from where he’d stashed it under his chair. Eva took it from him, opening it and pulling out the photos.

She felt her jaw lock with the effort it took to control her face. The first photo was of her, standing in the airport, looking lost. She flipped to the next: moving in. Then, her walking from the parking lot into the embassy, her sitting at a park after her first day staring into the middle distance, and her talking with Javier as they walked on a sidewalk—a conversation she’d forgotten about. That’s when things started to get interesting.

The next photo pictured her standing next to her car down the street from that little hotel, Horacio leaning over her. His expression looked frustrated. She was smiling. Next, the two of them in a similar position after the bar fight, mid motion as he’d pushed her against her car. Then, her and Connie laughing outside of the gym, sweaty and glowing in the streetlights.

After that came the moment outside of the bombed restaurant, smoke everywhere, Horacio hovering over her. Out of context, it was a stunningly captured image. They looked utterly alone, his concern for her written all over his face. She was holding him by his forearm, chin tilted up a bit, her hair falling in haphazard curls, haloed around her.

Eva stared at it a moment longer before she flipped to the next one. More of her and Connie, sitting on a low wall, eating. Her arguing with Javier on the steps of the church. Her and Horacio sitting on that bench across the street, his hand trailing down her arm, eyes wandering to the hem of her skirt. Another of him kissing her at her door after dropping her off from one of their early dates.

And then she was standing in the street, staring her ex mother in law down. A little out of focus behind her, Horacio was standing by the table with his arms crossed. Eva stared at the picture for a moment longer than the rest, feeling her lip curl. That woman was still living, and possibly already figured out that Zero had been unsuccessful—possibly was already contacting another contractor to finish the job. That would need to be dealt with eventually.

The final photo was taken a few days before she’d been called to examine Zero’s final warning. She was walking hand in hand with Horacio, they were in a busy farmer’s market, picking out a few things to cook up for dinner. Eva was looking up at him as he talked with a vendor, her eyes so full of emotion that she felt herself blush even looking at it. She looked like a woman in love, a thing that Eva had never thought would be something she would have.

Very carefully, Eva slipped the photos back into the folder and set it aside, “Thank you for doing that.”

Steve nodded, his eyes dropping to the glass in his hand, “At least its over now.”

She sighed, “Yeah, I guess so.”

The ride back to Horacio’s house was quiet. Eva glanced at him periodically, could tell that he was deep in thought. She clutched the folder of photos in her lap, unsettled. It wasn’t until she was taking her make up off in the mirror of the bathroom that he finally broached the subject he’d been contemplating all night.

Standing in the doorway, leaning against the jamb, he watched her wash her face, “We do need to address it.”

Eva looked at him in the mirror as she turned off the water, “Address what?”

“The fact that there is likely another hitman already contracted to kill you,” he said matter of factly.

Eva drew in a breath, glad that he hadn’t taken too awful long to decide to have this conversation. She didn’t know how fast Myra would move, but the woman was not known for her patience, or her mercy. It was extremely likely that they had contacted a new guy to finish the job.

She wiped her face off with a towel, “I know. I’ll think of something sooner or later.”

His mouth thinned, eyes narrow, “How can you be so calm?”

Setting the towel on the counter, Eva stepped up to him, placing her hands on his chest, “I have spent almost my entire life with people doing things to me that are completely out of my control. Maybe I’m used to it.”

Walking him back, she sat him down on the bed and kissed his brow. Turning, she reached behind her and tugged down the zipper of her dress, pulling it off while she searched for a sleep shirt to wear.

“This is serious, Eva. Your life is in danger.”

She laughed as she unclasped her bra and threw on the shirt. He very likely did not know how much of a hypocrite he was being in that moment.

“What?” he asked, his tone sharp.

Eva fixed him with a sardonic look, “I’m not the only person in this room with a bounty on their head, Horacio.”

His eyes looked away, “That’s different.”

“How?” she exclaimed, incredulous.

“I’m a police officer working to dissemble a cartel.”

He stood, hands on his hips, mouth curling. Eva felt her inside harden up, unbowed by his fierce look.

“And I’m a felon and former drug trafficker. I can’t escape this, I cannot walk away from it. You have a choice.”

He was already shaking his head, “I don’t.”

Eva stepped up to him, taking his hands, “You do. You can walk away. Retire. Spend some time at the cabin by the ocean. Fucking relax in public places. All of these things you can do. You just have to make the choice to do them.”

For the first time since she’d met him, Horacio looked unsteady. He was looking her with so many conflicting emotions that Eva couldn’t quite parse them out. Sensing that this might be the time to have the other conversation that she’d been keeping to herself for the last few weeks, she soldiered on.

“This job is going to kill you,” she whispered, voice low and rough, “I can’t stand to watch that happen.”

His mouth parted, “We have guards, protocols-,”

She cut him off, “That’s not what I’m talking about. Have you seen yourself these last few months? Did you see what I saw? They’re going to drive you into the ground.”

Horacio blinked, “Its difficult for everyone.”

“No,” she bit out, her hands tightening on his, “You’ve had maybe three days off since we got back. You’ve hardly slept, you’re not eating regularly, you’re so stressed I can literally smell it coming off you.”

Gently, she thumbed the skin beneath his scent gland. His eyes drooped a little, jaw loosening from where he’d been holding it so tightly. Settling into his body, Eva held him to her, trying to convey her worry, her concern for him.

“You want me to walk away from my career? Everything I’ve worked to build?” His voice was on the edge of anger, and Eva fought the urge to back up, to relent to him.

“I want the same thing that I think you want for me,” she murmured, “I want you to live. Really live. You can’t do that if you don’t make some changes. Take that one foot out of the darkness.”

He sighed deeply, dropping his head into the crook of her neck and embracing her, “Its late. We’re both tired. Let’s table this for now.”

Afraid that she’d push him too far if she pressed on, Eva nodded and stepped away to crawl onto the bed. She watched him undress and climb in next to her. After turning off the lamp on the nightstand, he settled into the pillows, taking her hand and kissing it. She drifted off with that solid connection between them.

The next few days were dusted with sporadic conversations about an intangible future. The end of Eva’s contract loomed, now four weeks away. She went to work every day, knowing that it was one less day she would be required to be there. And then something weird happened.

She’d been pulled into a meeting. She’d been censured for continuing to perform field work, outside of the scope of her contract. And then they’d told her that they were cutting it short and to clean out her desk. She’d have two weeks to get her personal items out of the apartment rented for her by the department. Eva couldn’t help the little sneer on her face as she watched Vanessa happily deliver the news.

She couldn’t keep her desk past the end of the day, had been given a box to put her belongings in. Eva had done so mechanically, putting the box of little personal items into her car and returning for her purse, still sitting on that shitty desk Steve had pointed out to her all those months ago. On the way out, she stood under an awning, looking out to the parking lot, confused and feeling just a tiny bit...sad.

A boot scuffed behind her and Eva looked over her shoulder to see Javier standing not far away, his fingers drumming on his leg.

“I guess you heard,” she said, a small smile on her lips.

Javier nodded, reaching up to pluck the cigarette from behind his ear, his other hand already holding a lighter.

“Its strange,” Eva continued on, “I think I’m actually going to miss it.”

He nodded again, not speaking. Eva frowned, gesturing at him as if to say ‘what’s the deal?’

Javier took a drag off the stick in his hand, “Let’s go to lunch.”

Without further explanation, he grabbed her by the elbow and started walking with her. His stride was quick, firm, determined.  His expression was closed. Eva felt her stomach drop with anxiety as she followed along.

“Okay,” Eva drawled in a false attempt at bravado, hustling to keep up with him in her heels, “What is this about?”

“Not here,” he murmured, steering her to his car.

It wasn’t until they were both ensconced in their seats and the engine had turned over that he said anything.

“We’re gonna meet Carrillo at a little out of the way dive just outside the city. I’ve been digging into your contract for a couple weeks and wanted to tell you both.”

Interesting.

Eva’s brows lifted, “What did you find?”

“Let’s wait until we get to the place, I’ll tell you everything then.”

They did, indeed, drive just outside of the city to a little hole in the wall place with what looked like only one waiter. At Javier’s direction, he led them to the back of the main room, through the kitchen, down a hall, and into a basement. Eva stood at the top of the steps, feeling just a little bit like she was walking into a trap.  She looked at Javier’s back as he descended, looked at the waiter, then sighed and stepped down.

It smelled a little bit musty, and there was only a single light hanging from the ceiling. But, a table had been set up with a few chairs. It even had a tablecloth.

“Well,” she commented, because she needed to talk or she was going to start freaking out, “This is certainly the strangest going away lunch I’ve ever had.”

Javier rolled his eyes and sat heavily in one of the chairs, “Have a seat. They’ll bring us some coffee.”

Eva sat, looping her purse strap over the top of the chair, “Is Horacio on his way?”

He nodded, “Should be here any minute.”

She stared him down, looking for clues as to what this was all about. He hadn’t brought a file, he didn’t even have that little notebook he sometimes carried with him. All he had was his wallet (currently wearing through the fabric of his jeans), his gun (tucked in the back of his waistband), his cigarettes (slipped into the breast pocket of his short-sleeved button up), and his lighter (twirling between the forefinger and thumb of his right hand).

The door at the stairs opened and Carrillo’s heavy steps sounded, a slow, measured thump. Eva folded her hands in her lap and waited until he ducked down to scan the room. He was wearing his uniform, gun at his hip, the first few buttons of his shirt undone so that a little of his undershirt peeked out.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said as he approached and sat down, “Had to make a few calls.”

“Not a problem,” Javier responded, “I almost didn’t catch Eva before she headed out.”

Eva scratched at the skin above her brow, “Does anyone want to tell me what this is about?”

Javier leaned back in his chair, folding his arms, “I did a little research on you.”

“This again?” Eva bit out, feeling a hot anger bubbled up from where is had laid simmering since she’d walked out of that meeting.

Hand up, he indicated for her to wait, “More than just your work history. More than your prison stint. I know a guy who knows a guy, who pulled your file—your actual file. I got a copy of your contract, and I managed to dig up some interoffice mail between Vanessa and some shady people.”

“Okay?”

He leaned forward on his forearms, “There’s a few expense forms that were incomplete, but paid out anyways. Expense forms for plane tickets for, Vladimir Prost—a known alias of Alexei Volkov, according to an FBI friend of mine—w ith a hotel voucher for the same name.”

Eva’s eyes narrowed, her brain circling around the information and coming out on the other side feeling her anxiety spike.

To her left, Carrillo added, “I went to the hotel, pulled a few of their records.  He stayed there for months, Eva.”

She crossed her legs, trying to keep her body more still, “I told you that he had, the pictures proved that he had. The question is why Vanessa, why the DEA, was footing the bill.”

Javier shook his head, “That’s the thing, they weren’t. The forms weren’t standard DEA—very close, but not quite the same.”

She blinked, “You’re saying they were doctored.”

“I’m saying they were doctored,” Javier confirmed with a sharp nod.

Carrillo looked at her solemnly, “I paid off a few administrators where she banks, tracked her bank statements and accounts for the last two years and cross referenced them with the forms Javier found. There are several large deposits close to the dates on the forms from a company our of Louisiana, Ardent Pharmaceuticals. That name familiar to you?”

Eva could feel the blood drain from her face, “That’s the company name for the Moore family’s business front.”

“Well,” Javier commented with a little shrug, “They’ve gone straight with a lot of their stuff. They’re a leader in the field of suppressant therapy.”

“I’m sure they are,” Eva sneered, eyes cutting to the side as she thought about those three syringes gleaming on that table.

“Eva,” Carrillo prompted lowly, “Do you understand what we’re telling you?”

She looked at him, “That my early release, my contract, all the work I’ve done, the shitty boss I’ve had, and my entire professional career is a big set up to keep me contained and under the thumb of my former mother in law so that she can eventually corral me into a corner and murder me? That sound close enough?”

“I know you’re mad,” Javier said, catching her eye, “But we’ve got to think smart about this.”

“Smart?” Eva hissed, her voice high, “You’re telling me to be smart? Everything I’ve done under this contract is a lie and you’re telling me to be smart?”

He made a soft sound of comfort, “You can be mad about that—hell, I’m mad about it—but, you can’t react from that anger.”

“How am I supposed to react?”

“With cunning,” Carrillo answered, and she could tell that he’d already made a plan. “I looked at the contract, the end date is set in stone. Did you get a formal letter of release?”

Eva nodded, reaching into her purse and handing it to him. He read it over quickly before handing it to Javier.

“Good,” he said, “That saves you from the DEA asserting that you broke the contract. Now, I’ve still got a hand in Vanessa’s accounts.  For the near future, that’s going to be our best bet for tracking when the next hit will come.”

Javier handed the release letter back to Eva, “I also made a call to one of my contacts at the IRS. He’s going to call for an audit of the Ardent books, which should tie up some of their funding for the next few months, at least.”

Eva shook her head, “If they’re still using my system, then they won’t find anything.  All their off the books transactions are buried under layer after layer of red tape and false company names.”

Javier leaned forward, “Can you lay out that system for me? So I can send it to them?”

She nodded, “I can do that.”

“Okay, that’ll work. I’ll fax that over to him and that might help speed things along. Eva?”

“Yeah,” she croaked.

“We need you to go about your life as usual. Go pack up your apartment, buy a ticket back to the states, do whatever you think will need to be done so that no one knows you’re onto them.”

Her brows drew together, “You want me to go back to the states?”

Carrillo put a hand on her arm, “We want it to look like you’re going back. We need to buy some time, until we hear back from our contacts.”

Staring into the middle distance, Eva processed the conversation, running over the information a second time and coming out just as angry, if not more so. She was quiet so long that the two men at the table began to fidget.

“Eva?” Javier edged.

She swallowed, then sighed, “Are we actually going to eat at this ‘lunch’? I’ve only had coffee today and I’m starving.”

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 10.1

331 BC – Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela. 366 – Pope Damasus I is consecrated. 959 – Edgar the Peaceful becomes king of all England, in succession to Eadwig. 965 – Pope John XIII is consecrated. 1553 – Coronation of Queen Mary I of England. 1588 – Coronation of Shah Abbas I of Persia. 1730 – Ahmed III is forced to abdicate as the Ottoman sultan. 1779 – The city of Tampere, Finland (belonging to Sweden at this time) is founded by King Gustav III of Sweden. 1787 – Russians under Alexander Suvorov defeat the Turks at Kinburn. 1791 – First session of the French Legislative Assembly. 1795 – More than a year after the Battle of Sprimont, the Austrian Netherlands (present-day Belgium) are officially annexed by Revolutionary France. 1800 – Via the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso, Spain cedes Louisiana to France, which would sell the land to the United States thirty months later. 1814 – Opening of the Congress of Vienna, intended to redraw Europe's political map after the defeat of Napoleon the previous spring. 1827 – Russo-Persian War: The Russian army under Ivan Paskevich storms Yerevan, ending a millennium of Muslim domination of Armenia. 1829 – South African College is founded in Cape Town, South Africa. It will later separate into the University of Cape Town and the South African College Schools. 1832 – Texian political delegates convene at San Felipe de Austin to petition for changes in the governance of Mexican Texas. 1861 – Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management is published, going on to sell 60,000 copies in its first year and remaining in print until the present day. 1887 – Balochistan is conquered by the British Empire. 1890 – Yosemite National Park is established by the U.S. Congress. 1891 – Stanford University opens its doors in California, United States. 1898 – The Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration is founded under the name k.u.k. Exportakademie. 1903 – Baseball: The Boston Americans play the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of the modern World Series. 1908 – Ford Model T automobiles are offered for sale at a price of US$825. 1910 – A large bomb destroys the Los Angeles Times building, killing 21. 1918 – World War I: The Egyptian Expeditionary Force captures Damascus. 1918 – Sayid Abdullah becomes the last Khan of Khiva. 1928 – The Soviet Union introduces its first five-year plan. 1931 – The George Washington Bridge in the United States, linking New Jersey and New York, is opened. 1931 – Clara Campoamor persuades the Constituent Cortes to enfranchise women in Spain's new constitution. 1936 – Spanish Civil War: Francisco Franco is named head of the Nationalist government of Spain. 1936 – Spanish Civil War: The Central Committee of Antifascist Militias of Catalonia dissolves itself, handing control of Catalan defence militias over to the Generalitat. 1938 – Germany annexes the Sudetenland. 1939 – World War II: After a one-month siege, German troops occupy Warsaw. 1940 – The Pennsylvania Turnpike, often considered the first superhighway in the United States, opens to traffic. 1942 – World War II: USS Grouper torpedoes Lisbon Maru, not knowing that she is carrying British prisoners of war from Hong Kong. 1943 – World War II: After the Four Days of Naples, Allied troops enter the city. 1946 – Nazi leaders are sentenced at the Nuremberg trials. 1946 – The Daegu October Incident occurs in Allied-occupied Korea. 1947 – The North American F-86 Sabre flies for the first time. 1949 – The People's Republic of China is established. 1953 – Andhra State is formed, consisting of a Telugu-speaking area carved out of India's Madras State. 1953 – A Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of Korea is concluded in Washington, D.C. 1955 – The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is established. 1957 – First appearance of In God we trust on U.S. paper currency. 1958 – The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics is replaced by NASA. 1960 – Nigeria gains independence from the United Kingdom. 1961 – The United States Defense Intelligence Agency is formed, becoming the country's first centralized military intelligence organization. 1961 – East and West Cameroon merge to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. 1961 – The CTV Television Network, Canada's first private television network, is launched. 1964 – The Free Speech Movement is launched on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. 1964 – Japanese Shinkansen ("bullet trains") begin high-speed rail service from Tokyo to Osaka. 1966 – West Coast Airlines Flight 956 crashes with no survivors in Oregon. This accident marks the first loss of a DC-9. 1968 – Guyana nationalizes the British Guiana Broadcasting Service, which would eventually become part of the National Communications Network, Guyana. 1969 – Concorde breaks the sound barrier for the first time. 1971 – Walt Disney World opens near Orlando, Florida. 1971 – The first practical CT scanner is used to diagnose a patient. 1975 – Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in a boxing match in Manila, Philippines. 1978 – Tuvalu gains independence from the United Kingdom. 1979 – Pope John Paul II begins his first pastoral visit to the United States. 1979 – The MTR, the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong, opens. 1982 – Helmut Kohl replaces Helmut Schmidt as Chancellor of Germany through a constructive vote of no confidence. 1982 – Epcot opens at Walt Disney World in Florida. 1982 – Sony and Phillips launch the compact disc in Japan. On the same day, Sony released the model CDP-101 compact disc player, the first player of its kind. 1985 – Israel-Palestinian conflict: Israel attacks the Palestine Liberation Organization headquarters in Tunisia during "Operation Wooden Leg". 1987 – The 5.9 Mw  Whittier Narrows earthquake shakes the San Gabriel Valley with a Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing eight and injuring 200. 1989 – Denmark introduces the world's first legal same-sex registered partnerships. 1991 – Croatian War of Independence: The Siege of Dubrovnik begins. 1994 – Palau enters a Compact of Free Association with the United States. 2000 – Israel-Palestinian conflict: Palestinians protest the murder of 12-year-old Muhammad al-Durrah by the Israeli police in northern Israel, beginning the "October 2000 events". 2001 – Militants attack the state legislature building in Kashmir, killing 38. 2009 – The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom takes over the judicial functions of the House of Lords. 2012 – A ferry collision off the coast of Hong Kong kills 38 people and injures 102 others. 2014 – A series of explosions at a gunpowder plant in Bulgaria completely destroys the factory, killing 15 people. 2014 – A double bombing of an elementary school in Homs, Syria kills over 50 people. 2015 – A gunman kills nine people at a community college in Oregon. 2015 – Heavy rains trigger a major landslide in Guatemala, killing 280 people. 2017 – An independence referendum, declared illegal by the Constitutional Court of Spain, takes place in Catalonia. 2017 – Fifty-eight people are killed and 869 others injured in a mass shooting at a country music festival at the Las Vegas Strip in the United States; the gunman, Stephen Paddock, later commits suicide. 2018 – The International Court of Justice rules that Chile is not obliged to negotiate access to the Pacific Ocean with Bolivia.

[collecting-stories]

Home - Kiara Carrera

Request: hi! can i request a platonic pogue imagine where kie is assaulted at a party and the pogues are all super protective and concerned?

A/N: The title comes from a poem by Rupi Kaur of the same name from her book The Sun and Her Flowers. I have excerpts from the same poem at the beginning and end of this. 

T/W: This talks entirely of sexual assault and violence. It’s not in graphic detail but please read with caution if that’s something that upsets you. 

Outer Banks Masterlist

~

It began as a typical Thursday from what I can recall

Sunlight kissed my eyelids good morning

-

Kiara had a million dreams about leaving the OBX but they always involved coming back. The beach was a part of her. Other people talked about the Outer Banks like it was prison, like if they could belong to anywhere they would never choose that island but Kiara knew differently. The Outer Banks wasn’t just the place she lived it was her home. It ran through her blood. All her best memories were here, on the Cut with the pogues, at home with her parents...even when things got tough at school she still belonged, in some way. Other people came and went, they visited and never stayed, but the OBX was her home. Her hometown, her security blanket. It was the first sand she ever stepped on, the first wave she ever caught.  

She could remember learning to drive stick shift in her dad’s old car down back roads and sitting outside in the salt air while her mom tried umpteen times to braid her hair the way she had seen in youtube videos. All her friends were here. All her family. It was the place she felt the most love. Every piece of her could be tied to the OBX.  

She loved the Outer Banks. The beach, the Cut, even the Eight. The boneyard, the Wreck, every landscape, every lighthouse, every pebble on the island held a piece of her heart and she loved it all dearly. But love doesn’t always last.  

“Can I ride with her?”  

It sounded like Pope’s voice but something was covering her ears, she tried lift her hand up, pull whatever it was off her ears, but her arm was strapped down. Someone pressed a hand to her arm and she flinched.  

“It’s okay honey,” a woman said, voice even. Her face came into view, hazy like Kiara couldn’t quite focus on the image, “we’re gonna take you to the hospital okay?”

“Can I ride with her?” Pope repeated, his voice cracking. If she could’ve seen him she would’ve seen the terrified look in his eyes. Bloodshot, cheeks stained with tears, as he pushed against the officer holding him back.  

John B was off to the side, holding Sarah. Shoupe had JJ pushed back, trying to calm the boy down. But he looked just as shaken as Pope, face red and fists clenching so hard his nails were digging into his palms.  

“You have to follow behind, I’m sorry. Only family are allowed to ride along in the ambulance.” The woman, who was walking beside the gurney, called out to Pope.  

“Are you fucking kidding me!” JJ shouted, “We are her family!”  

“Hey, calm down!” Shoupe pushed JJ back again.

“Fuck you!”  

When another cop moved forward Peterkin put her hand up. “He’s fine.” She promised.

Someone grabbed Pope’s arm and he practically jumped, turning away from the ambulance for the first time since it had pulled up. They loaded the stretcher up into the back, the female EMT climbing in after it, reaching out to hold Kiara’s hand. Behind Pope, Topper stood, looking apologetic. He’d come up the beach with some others when they heard the sirens. Most people had fled but an ambulance meant they weren’t here to break up a party.  

“I’ll give you ride.”

“What?” Pope asked, confused. JJ, John B, and Sarah had all turned when they saw Topper approach.  

“Let me drive you guys to the hospital.” He repeated, glancing over at his ex, “it’s the least I can do.”

“Yeah okay.” John B nodded, his whole body shaking as he followed his friends toward Topper’s SUV.

Kiara had been to a million parties in the OBX. Every summer since she was fourteen it felt like she lived half her life at parties on the beach. The pogues brought the keg and they all just hung out, chill, easy, sometimes a fight might break out but that wasn’t typical. She had never felt anything but safe on the beach. It was open and there were always people around and she loved the feeling of hanging with friends and watching the ocean at night.  

The OBX was her great love and the beach was her safe haven.  

And she’d been chatting with different groups like she always did, weaving her way around different people’s narratives and finding new friends. Dancing with JJ, Sarah, whoever. It was like every other night at the beach until she wandered a little further up the sand.  

Maybe it was the third drink, or the fourth...she didn’t know anything other than suddenly feeling bad. Like she was swimming in her own head. She felt like she was going to be sick and she told Sarah she’d be right back. She was going up to the Twinkie.  

God she loved that car. That stupid, rusty, bus that JJ had installed a new tape deck weeks ago when she complained that they needed cassettes in the old junker again. That bus that Pope and JJ found her slumped against.  

“Kie!”  

She remembered little else besides going up the hill to the where the bus was parked but she would never forget the way JJ screamed her name. It was something she’d never heard before. Not happiness, not relief, not anger...he was scared.  

He held her while Pope called 911 and then called Sarah. ‘Something terrible happened, come quick’. He held her until the ambulance came and when he stood in the waiting room, pacing back and forth like a madman, it was her blood that stained his white t-shirt. It was on his arms, under his nailbeds, mixed with his own. When a nurse tried to take a look at his bleeding hands his flinched away from her so hard he bumped into a chair and knocked over a magazine rack.  

“I need to talk to you about what you saw,” it was the first thing Peterkin said when she got to the hospital. She pulled John B down the hall, leaving Sarah curled up in a chair by herself, still crying.  

“Pope and JJ...I wasn’t there when they found Kiara.” John B explained, raking his hands through his hair. What did he see? Nothing...the same thing he saw at every party. People, kegs, more people. “Someone did this to her...we were fucking feet away and someone-” his fist hit the wall and hours later he had it wrapped when his knuckles started to bruise, “someone did this and we weren’t there.”

“I’m trying to figure out who that person is.” It didn’t matter who Peterkin interviewed, all the pogues stories melded into one, singular proclamation.  

“If I knew I’d rip their fucking throat out.”  

Peterkin called Kiara’s parents. They’d been to the hospital with her three times in sixteen years. Once when she was born, once when she pulled boiling water off the stove and her mother had to sit with DCS for hours convincing them she was a good parent, and once when she was fourteen and broke her wrist skateboarding. There was even a picture hanging on their fridge of her, sitting on the exam table, holding her arm up proudly. On the back her dad had written ‘Kiara, age 14, first break’.

The pictures of this went into a folder. Close ups of her thighs, her throat, her face, her hands, arms, wrists, stomach, every part of her documented for a plain manila folder. Her dad stood outside her room and cried for the first time since she was born.  

“You gonna be a big name surfer someday?” Her dad had teased her the first time she went out on a board with him. It was floral and she’d picked it out herself, eager to learn.  

“I’m gonna surf every beach in the world.” She was eight and her mom stood at the edge of the tide, watching them drift further out.

“Which one you think you’ll like the most?”  

“This one.” She had pictures of Hawai’i and Venice Beach and Australia tacked to her wall even then but she knew what she loved.  

Kiara had made it to the Twinkie when she felt her throat close up the way it always did before she puked. She grabbed the hood of the bus and leaned over, throwing up right there in front of John B’s car and thinking that she would have to tell them not to step in it when they left later that night.  

Pope stood barefoot in the hospital waiting room because he’d walked right through it. The police collected his shoes at the scene and he had ridden all the way there with nothing but a pair of gym socks Topper had in his trunk on his feet.  

Kiara had thrown up, wiped her mouth on the back on her hand, and stood, her mind on grabbing a water bottle from inside the Twinkie, when someone grabbed her. They knocked the wind out of her, shoving her forward into the car that was parked next to the bus. Her head hit the car and a hand pushed her face down against the hood. When she tried to scream, and she couldn’t even tell if she was screaming or even opening her mouth, they lifted her by her hair and threw her against the side of the Twinkie.  

It could’ve been anyone. When she woke up and Peterkin came in to talk to her the reality of it all felt like it was crashing down on her. Like a wave pulling her under the ocean and she was fighting to break the surface.  

“I didn’t see him...I didn’t...I can’t....he could’ve been anyone.”  

“We’re gonna keep looking baby,” Peterkin had promised but the truth was there was a whole island to search. Most of the kids had fled when they heard the sirens and there was no way of knowing if Kiara’s attacker hadn’t fled before that. The moment he heard Pope and JJ calling for their best friend.  

Topper told John B he’d keep an ear to the ground. Kelce and Rafe expressed the same sentiment. JJ, Pope, and John B kept a close watch on any pogues but it became more and more clear that the person who did this hadn’t just left the party. They had left the island.  

A touron. Here one day, gone the next. A stranger. A faceles, nameless, person had come into town for a vacation. On summer break with family, with friends, with someone. They had come onto her island and they had taken it from her. Kiara’s mom sat in the hosptial bed beside her for days, holding her daughter the way she used to when she was small and reminding her of every single person on that island that loved her, hoping against all hope that Kiara would feel even an inkling of that. And when she went home, when she climbed out onto her roof along in the middle of the night and she looked out at the ocean it all looked the same but she wondered if it even recognized her anymore.  

-

This home is what I came into this world with

Was the first home

Will be the last home

You cannot take it

There is no space for you

No welcome mat

~

Taglist: @maplelattes22 @poguesrforlife  @freckled-and-daydreaming  @chasefreakinstokes @millie-753 @fangirlwithme @alex12948 @katherine097 @tangledinsparkles @carbonated-beverage @mariofgreengables @damonsalvawhore27 @dopedoodes @dolanfivsosxox@belledutchess @poguelifeeee @faded-blue @parkerpetertingle @thebookwormlife @summer-clouds-and-long-days @jellyfishbeansontoast @minigranger @hoewkeye @love-someone-special @tiredfeels @strangerthanfanfiction713 @the-only-nana @tomzfrog @mozz-are-lla @vindictive-hearts @poguestyleskye @ssprayberrythings @jenahbell @beautyandthebleh @gothackedalready @teenwaywardasgardian @sarahcxmeron @haha-fuck-you-thot @stillbelieve398-5 @rewindlr @queenniccimicci @kissessforharryyy @thedarkqueenofavalon @alytavzla @bqmblebee @linniep @nerdypartytrashpsychic @xxchxrryxx @spencer-reid-is-a-cutie @mirjanak @danielladreaming @obx-saltlife @youngestxhearts @spnobsessedmemes @wowitswondergurl @celestialmaybank @mybnkjj @pineappleandcherries @mysterious-adventurer @justawilddreamerchild @rhyetaylor62 @calm-rejects @balletandyuzu @oh-annaa@aiifandomsunite @x-lulu @ceruleanjj @wicked-laugh @obxwriterfan @allie-mcginn @pcterparxer @literarycharleton @khiaraaa-in-spacee @crushe-s @teamnick @daydreamlilys@collectiveuniverses @activist-af @mdgrdians @buckys-sunflower @vindictive-hearts@copper-boom @talksoprettyjjx @5am-cigarette @smiithys @dontjinx-it @outerbanksbro @mysticsthinking @heavenlymama  @rudy-pankow-needs-an-oscar @babymatilda @raekenliar@lemur46 @haute-shawn 

[nadineeb]

Hey, it’s Nadine and this is my first blog!

Welcome my dear readers to my first blog post! I want to extend my arms to all of you for reading this blog and the future ones. I’m delighted that I found this platform on the internet which makes me give a stand and voice on things that matters to me and the people around me. All the blogs that I will post here at Tumblr are only my thoughts and opinions. If we don’t have the same stand regarding a matter, feel free to exit. I believe that we all have the right to express ourselves with utmost freedom we can have. I hope we all vibe together. -XOXO, Nads <3

Allow me to introduce myself to the blogging world!

I’m Bernadine Bayangos, a teen from a small town in Isabela, Philippines.

A LOT of people I met outside Region 2 and in the upper part of Luzon, they always tell me “Where is that place?” or sometimes, “Isa - what?? I haven’t heard of it before! It really is a place huh?”. Hearing these things I don’t know how to react to be honest.

Most of the time I try to explain where it is but sometimes, I just shrugged them off because some of the people especially those I met who came from well-known cities offend me. They ask me if we got a mall here or just the random, common sense questions.

Let me tell you, yes, we’ve got malls here where we get our stuff from our day to day living. I felt so lucky that we still have to shop at the farmers’ market. It’s available and open anytime of the day. We can find cheap-priced things and foods that are essential to our daily lives. Some grocery store-bought vegetables cost a fortune unlike in the farmers’ markets.

Well as for clothes, I usually go to Manila every month but since it’s locked down, I order online. The Internet + my love for clothes really make a huge difference especially now that we’re locked down in our areas and can’t travel that far.

I grew up with my family and some extended relatives which are way older than me - my grandparents. I learn my instincts from them - self-defense, way of life, how to be smart, and most importantly, my virtues. That’s also explains why I’m a bit talkative.

I want my Tumblr to be my avenue to express things to others which I cannot do since face to face chatting with your dear friends is not really advisable at this moment.

One of my favorite things to do back then and now, is to read books. I can remember when I was like 6 to 12 years old, when we go to Manila, I could never go back here in the province without the 4 big bags of books and school supplies that I bought from a famous bookstore. Thinking of it now, I quite made my dad go broke. Yikes!

Feeding my love for learning, I’m always a girl that is curious about a lot of things. If I’m not satisfied, I will surely ask about it. Though now, that I’ve grown so much, I refrain myself from asking now that I can solve issues that affects me.

I also love travelling! When I’m somewhere near the ocean or the mountains, I feel that I’m at peace. Not much of a city girl, that I’m tired of being it since then. My favorite place to visit here in the Ph is Cagayan de Oro and its nearby towns. The Dahilayan Adventure Park which has the longest zipline in Asia. You can also visit the Del Monte pineapple plantations and see acres of pineapples while eating a medium-rare steak at their restaurant. If you’re also fond of adventures in line with having to see the beauty of nature, I highly suggest to visit this place!

The people, they are heartwarmingly hospitable. In the hotel we stayed, Limketkai Luxe hotel, the accommodation was amazing. Also, I love to stay there every time because when mom and dad leave me for meetings, there’s a backdoor and an overpass which leads to the entrance of the shopping mall. How I miss!

Cagayan de Oro also holds a special place in my heart because as what I’ve said earlier, I’m fond of reading books whether it is online or a hard copy one. I’ve read the Montefalco Series on Wattpad by Jonaxx, the author, I’ve fallen in love with the place immediately. I feel like one of the main characters whenever I go to CDO.

When I travel I always tend to adapt to the cultures of the place I’m going. It’s a sign of respect to the. Being able to mix in with the crowd is a great advantage for me in the future especially that after I finish my studies, I want to go abroad to master my skills. That’s why I’m always day-dreaming at things that may be going on for the next few years of my life.

After 10 years, I will be 26 by then, I suppose I’m with my family in Australia by then. I’m working as a business associate while studying law at one of the prestigious schools in Victoria.  From then, I can continue to work at the Parliament of Australia in Melbourne. I may still be single by that time, busy building my career, and play with my cats at home after a stressful day.

This is me at the Parliament.

Let’s talk about the 2019 Corona Virus disease that had struck our world last months. I can say that it’s getting a lot worse that I had imagined. I know that our scientists have done great work in finding solutions to this. Money isn’t everything once you’ve get a hit by this virus. I myself can prove that.

I have this auntie who is a doctor and she’s very successful in her field. She even had one of the biggest shares at a hospital but then things got out of hand, she had the disease. There’s nothing she can do except to lie down her bed, get better, fight for it so that once she gets better, she can continue curing her patients.

My grandfather’s cousin, a former senator of the Philippines, also died from this virus. I’m proud to think that he had served our country well, but I’m devastated that he had to die this way, I didn’t even saw his last moments nor his dead body. He is immediately cremated and left the hospital bill with millions of pesos.

This shows that even the strongest person, the most kind, the rich, the nobody – can’t get away if we all are not taking care of our own health. We should love our body more! Think about ourselves more!

Before this pandemic, I did not have this realizations yet. I realized that more than taking care of our body, we should express to our loved ones how we care and love them dearly. We never know when death comes our way. Yes, we do know that we can’t escape it but the thing is, we know that it’ll happen and we can’t accept the fact the God will take them soon. I think that’s the problem, we, people, tend to just shrug it off and don’t make the best out of someone that we love because they will stay, what we can’t accept is that they will stay but not forever. That is why we have regrets.

(one of my best times before this outbreak)

Indeed, life is short as they say. If you’re dealing with your what ifs’ I recommend you don’t. Just make it happen. If you don’t, you’ll spend your life thinking about that `what if’s’ it’ll only make your life nonsense. So for me, I’d rather do it. If it fails, stand up again, fix yourself, and go on. Instead of letting yourself not doing it because of what might happen on the way. Your happiness depends on you. Choose it. Don’t wait for the things  to happen right before your eyes. Act on it and make it happen.

My first blog is a bit long now and I’m getting emotional, I’ll have to say goodbye for now. I’ll see you on my next one. Ciao!

[lovehugsandcandy]

Who Killed Jason Shaw? Chapter 6: Logan (RoD, Colt x MC)

Summary: Ellie visits Logan as her dad’s investigation moves along.

Rating: R (discussions of death)

Pairing: Colt x MC, RoD

Length: ~1900 words

Ellie was shocked, astounded, when she entered the silent dining room the next morning to find her dad sitting there, obviously waiting for her, table set with two full cups of coffee and two heaping breakfasts.

“Sit.”

She sat. Waiting.

“I’m sorry.”

She blinked. This was definitely not how she thought this conversation would start.

“I apologize. I lost my temper at your friend-”

“My boyfriend.”

Her dad winced. “Boyfriend, then. Planning on bringing him around for dinner?”

“Not anymore.” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked in front of her. She could hear her stomach rumbling and would die for a sip of coffee, fingers twitching, aching to reach for the food in front of her. She waited, not moving.

“Ellie. You just....you don’t know what I see. Out there, gangs feuding for no reason, kids wrapping themselves around trees. I just worry...it’s why I make sure my old cruiser in the the driveway when I drive by on night shift. It’s why I didn’t let you go out in high school. It’s why you can’t date a gang banger.”

“It’s why you forcibly pulled me out of the car?”

“I lost my head and I apologize.” He leaned closer, eyes intent on her. “But Ellie,  one of them killed Shaw and Kaneko has all the motive in the world. You can’t associate with that!”

She stood up. “I’m an adult and I’ll associate with whoever I want!”

“Ellie, you’re making a stupid mistake!” Her dad stood as well, eyeing her. “He’s not worth your time. You need to go back to school and-”

“I get to decide what I do, dad. Not you. Not anymore.” She crossed her hands over her chest. “It’s my life. My choices.”

“You live under this roof, you-”

“We’re not doing this again.This didn’t end so well last time. For either of us.” She shook her head and grabbed her things. “I’ll talk to you later.” She attributed it to personal growth, the fact that she gently closed the front door behind her and he surprisingly refrained from screaming at her. Baby steps.

~~~~~

After an emergency stop for coffee, she headed out of the city proper, where the air got fresher and the homes bigger with every block, every step. Finally, she pulled up in front of a gleaming auto body shop, stopping for a second to marvel at the two-story building, definitely a leg up over Kaneko Auto Body. At this point, Colt’s shop was a clean, if mostly empty, room that housed a motorcycle and a loft bedroom; this looked like it could house a mansion.

She jumped when someone knocked at her window. Rolling it down, she stared at the lanky teenager in front of her. “Dropping your car off, Miss?”

She blinked. “Are you a valet?”

“I can drive your car through the bay doors for you if you would prefer to head right into the waiting room, where we have a television, magazines, and coffee waiting for you right though-”

“Jesus, stop.” She held up her hands. “I’m just here to visit a friend. Logan? A mechanic?”

“Ah, of course, miss.” He nodded, a obsequious mini-bow that made Ellie flinch. “I can park your car for you in the visitor lot, if you prefer.”

She blinked. If it were her car, she wouldn’t allow it, would only allow a select few, hand-chosen individuals the privilege of driving her bright pink European import. But her dad’s old cruiser? She hopped out and tossed over the keys before traipsing away. He could wrap it around a tree for all she cared.

When she floated through the automatic doors, she had to stare. The inside was as polished as the outside, cool metal as far as the eye could see. Damn. Apparently, this was how the other half lived. And, at the far bay, a familiar figure in a white t-shirt was hunched next to the grill on a pristine white Lambo.

Ellie let out a whistle as she got closer. “This place has a valet?”

“And the best mechanic in all of LA.” Logan stood up, wiping his hands on a rag before wrapping her up in a hug. She leaned in, hands tight around his waist, squeezing him tight. “ Hey, Troublemaker. How are you?”

“I’m good.” She could feel the stress leaving her body; it had been far too long since she had seen him. “How are you? These are impressive digs!”

“I mean, I can’t take any credit for it. It’s alright.” He shrugged, looking around with a grin. “Sure beats Kaneko's shop, though.”

She poked his rib. “Hey. Watch it. I happen to have a soft spot for that place.”

“You have a soft spot for the owner, you mean, one that he definitely doesn’t deserve.” He rolled his eyes. “Come on. Let’s go for a walk.”

She followed him, past the eager valet at the front desk, out onto the street and down a block, closer to the ocean. She could smell the salt in the air and they sat on a bench in a quiet neighborhood, overlooking a small park. As she watched a pair of kids play tag, she could almost believe that everything was normal, that they were just a couple of friends enjoying the spring day, with no murder investigation hanging over their heads.

“Alright, Trouble. How are you really?”

“I’m ok.” She studied him, the dark underneath his eyes, the way his teeth dug into his lip. “How are you?”

“I’m ok, too. How’s your dad’s investigation?”

“I don’t know.” She sighed, leaning back against the faded wood. “He doesn’t tell me anything, especially not now. He and Colt almost got into a fist fight yesterday.”

“What? When?”

“I was staking out the wake and Colt showed up and then my dad did.” She tipped her head back with a groan. “It was a mess.”

“Does he think Colt did it?”

“I think so?”

“Do you think Colt did it?”

“No. I don’t.” She opened her eyes to see him staring at her. “What?”

“He would be my prime suspect. I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time he tried to kill Shaw.”

“Logan.” She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it again. She considered her options and realized that there was no nice way to say this. “Logan, you would be my prime suspect.”

“Wait, you think I did it?”

“No, no no no, Logan, that’s not what I meant.” She studied him, carefully. “But you would be the most obvious suspect. I have the phone records and, if I have them, you know the cops do too.”

“Ellie, I’m telling you, I didn’t do it.” He pivoted to face her, eyes earnest.

“I know. Aren’t you relieved he’s dead, though?”

“Hell, Ellie, of course I am. He fucking threatened me. He said he would come after me, said he still had friends in the force.”

“I know-”

“He just kept calling me and threatening me about his trial, about wanting to know where Mona was, wanting to talk to her before they both went to court.” He ran his hands threw his hair, tugging roughly on the strands; Ellie felt her heart break. “I didn’t know how to stop him but I couldn’t, I wouldn’t do kill him.”

“Logan-”

“Ellie, you know I couldn’t give up Mona. You know I wouldn’t. He wanted to kill her! And then he was gonna kill me and then he wouldn’t stop...”

The kids had moved on from tag, apparently done chasing each other around, now climbing a tree, daring each other to go higher and higher. She wondered how high they would go before one fell, before a bad decision and gravity caused them to plummet to the earth.

“I didn’t do it, Ellie, I swear.”

“I know. I know.” Could she possibly keep them all from falling? As she watched the kids climb higher and higher, laughing as they went, she didn’t know who would climb and who would fall.

~~~~~

“My dad tried to apologize.”

Colt scoffed, disdain dripping from the phone line. “Great. I guess my apology will come in the mail any day now.”

Ellie rubbed her temple and settled in deeper into her couch. “You didn’t exactly keep your cool either.”

“He dragged you out of the car. You can’t expect me to sit there for that shit.”

"Not the best ‘meet the parents’ situation.”

“C’mon, El. You know it wasn’t gonna go well regardless.” She could hear his footsteps, heavy on the concrete floor of the shop. “How’s his investigation going?”

“No idea.” The television was showing some procedural; men in black suits flashed across the screen. “He said today was the day.”

“What do you mean?”

“He said the ME would be able to make a determination on cause of death today.” The television was not captivating her attention; she didn’t want to know who went free and who was jailed on a fake crime on some fake Hollywood set. 

Colt hummed. “Does he know who did it?”

“I don’t know.” She wanted to know who went free and who went to jail in her own life. 

“Do you?”

“It could be anyone. Everyone.” Her thumbnail was almost completely gone, stress and worry and nerves all multiplying in her head and over her body.

Colt hummed again.

“I saw Logan.”

“Huh.” She could hear Colt’s eyes rolling over the phone. “How was that?”

“Fine. Works at a shop outside Manhattan Beach.”

“High class. What a tool.” His disdain was evident. “Do you think he did it?”

“I don’t know.” She heard a car turn down the street, closer, and turned her head, as slowly as possible. There were lights in her driveway. Her heart leapt; her dad was home. “He’s the one who talked to Shaw, I mean.”

“What did he say about that?”

“Not much.” Her dad turned off the engine and the hair on Ellie’s arms stood straight up. She turned, as unobtrusively as she could, to see out the window. “Said Shaw threatened him.”

“Wait, Ellie, Shaw threatened Logan? I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah.” Her focus was solely on her dad, closing his car door, thick manila envelope in his hand. “He told me, called a week ago, before break. I knew that,” she answered idly.

“Wait, what?” His tone was sharp but it wasn’t enough to break through, as distracted as she was. “You knew?” She had to know what was in that folder.

“Colt, I have to go.” She could hear the key in the lock. Crap.

“Wait, hold on-”

“My dad’s home, I have to go. Sorry.” She ended the call and threw the phone on the couch, pivoting to face the TV, ears intent on the footsteps behind her. 

“Hi, Dad.”

He stopped and looked at her, hard. She forced herself to take a shallow breath. She was gonna throw up, every nerve in her body doing battle in her stomach. After an eternity, he nodded and headed upstairs to the study, folder held tight by his side.

Her exhale was shaky and she turned to look out the window at his cruiser, dark and forbidding in the dark of her driveway. Was no news good news?

She waited and waited but he didn’t come downstairs again. Finally, with her stomach churning, she went to bed and fell into a restless sleep, nightmares returning in full force. She could see Jason behind the wheel of his car, chasing and chasing her, gaining as she frantically pushed on the gas, red and blue lights filling the night sky around them. When she woke up, the tears had streamed down her cheeks, damp pillowcase a visual reminder of her fears.

[sinister-bob]

What happened to Mr Hooper?

Those of you who grew up with Sesame Street would remember Mr Hooper who owns the corner store. This is some nostalgia flooding back and I hope it brings back many happy memories

Harold Hooper (known almost universally as just Mr. Hooper) was a character on Sesame Street, played by Will Lee, who was the original proprietor of Mr. Hooper's Store, which still retains his name.

Mr. Hooper is Jewish, according to Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, when Bob tells him to have a Happy Hanukkah. In true Sesame Street fashion, his religion was irrelevant to most other plots, as characters' differences are generally irrelevant to plot. His heritage was suggested at in an episode in which Big Bird inquires about the languages that various members of the community can speak when Mr. Hooper reveals that he was taught to read, write and speak Yiddish at after-school religious instruction.

For unexplained reasons, Big Bird had trouble saying "Hooper", instead using various words that rhymed with it, such as "Looper" or "Crouper". This led to frequent retorts of "Hooper! Hooper!" from Mr. Hooper or the other adults whenever Big Bird mispronounced his surname.

When Lee suddenly died of a heart attack on December 7, 1982, it left the producers of Sesame Street, the Children's Television Workshop, with questions about how to acknowledge the death of one of the series' most visible actors. After considering a number of options, CTW decided to have the character of Mr. Hooper pass away as well, and use the episode to teach its young viewers about death as a natural part of life and that it is OK for everyone—children and adults alike—to grieve when someone they love dies. The cause of Mr. Hooper's death is not announced, and euphemisms to soften the blow of his absence (e.g., "passed away") are not used; the topic is dealt with directly.

The "Farewell, Mr. Hooper" episode (ep #1839) aired November 24, 1983 (Thanksgiving Day), so that parents and children could discuss about the content while watching, and was quickly selected by the Daytime Emmys as being one of the 10 most influential moments in daytime television history.

In the famous "Farewell Mr Hooper" episode, the adults on Sesame Street explain to Big Bird about Mr. Hooper's death.Big Bird makes a silly entrance onto the set, walking backwards with his head between his legs. When Gordon asks why he is walking like that, Big Bird gives the childishly inscrutable reason, "Because. Just because."

Later in the episode, Big Bird presents each adult on the show with a gift—a drawing he has made of each of them. The last drawing he has is of Mr. Hooper, and Big Bird is eager to give it to him. When Big Bird asks his adult friends to help find Mr. Hooper, they gently remind Big Bird that Mr. Hooper has died. Not understanding, Big Bird announces he will just wait for him to come back.

The adults pause, looking uncomfortable and sad. They then tearfully explain that when someone dies, they don't come back physically. Big Bird is dismayed, and the adults (all genuinely emotional) comfort him, explaining that they were lucky to have known and loved Mr. Hooper, and that they will always have their memories of him. It will never be the same without him, they say, but they will all help take care of Big Bird and life will continue on as normal.

Big Bird angrily demands to know why Mr. Hooper had to die, and no one has a ready answer. Finally Gordon figures out what to say: "Because. Just because." This is perhaps the only answer that could make sense to Big Bird, at least for now, and he sadly accepts it. He then—as he constantly has throughout the years—humorously, but glumly mispronounces Mr. Hooper's name once again, even in death ("Mr. Looper"), then Maria said, "That's Hooper, Big Bird. Hooper." And the adults and Big Bird embrace.

Big Bird's drawing of Mr. Hooper (in reality drawn by Big Bird's puppeteer, Caroll Spinney) hangs above his nest to this day, as was seen in the 2007 "Learn Along with Sesame Street" episode "You Can Ask." Interestingly, the segment in which the portrait is seen also deals with loss, as Big Bird had just "lost" a pet turtle

Initially, the producers had considered using flashbacks of Mr. Hooper in the episode. This was ultimately rejected because they thought that—given that most children are unable to comprehend the difference between flashbacks and new footage—it would give the impression that Mr. Hooper was actually still alive and thus confuse the intended audience.

The episode was later made into a book called "I'll Miss You, Mr. Hooper" by Norman Stiles, et al.

Also, a street skit made about a year later featured Big Bird, Maria, and David all reminiscing about him in good spirits. Big Bird showed off his drawing of him, and shots of him were shown as they continued to talk about him.

While Mr. Hooper's death is considered by most as a landmark in children's television, this wasn't the first death in a children's program. Upon the 1973 death of George Woodbridge, who played the titular character in the British series Inigo Pipkin, the opening episode of the third season of the show dealt with the character's passing. The series was renamed Pipkins, to reflect the change in cast.

Will Lee

Will Lee (August 6, 1908 – December 7, 1982) was an American actor who was known to many for playing the store proprietor Mr. Hooper on Sesame Street, from the show's debut in 1969 until his death.

Lee was born in Brooklyn, New York and began his career as a character actor on stage. He was a member of the Group Theater in the 1930s and appeared in Johnny Johnson, Night Music, Boy Meets Girl, The Time of Your Life (as Willie the pinball machine addict) and other Broadway plays. He succeeded John Garfield as the lead in Golden Boy.

Lee was co-founder of the Theater of Action and a member of the Federal Theater Project. During World War II, he served in Army Special Services in Australia and Manila and was cited twice for directing and staging shows for troops overseas, as well as teaching acting classes. After the war, he appeared Off Broadway in Norman Mailer's Deer Park (as movie mogul Teppis) and on Broadway in The Shrike, Once Upon a Mattress, Carnival, Incident at Vichy and The World of Sholom Aleichem.

Lee also began appearing in films, including bit parts in Casbah, A Song Is Born, Little Fugitive and according to "Sesame Street Unpaved", Saboteur. However, much like Zero Mostel, Will Lee was blacklisted as a communist in films and on television for a period of five years during the McCarthy Red Scare, according to members of his family. He had been active in the Actors Workshop and had been an unfriendly witness before the House Committee on Un-American Activities hearings in 1950 investigating show business. At the end of that period, in 1956, Lee landed the role of Grandpa Hughes in the soap opera As The World Turns, before finally being cast as Mr. Hooper.

He taught at the American Theater Wing for nine years (where his students included James Earl Jones) as well as at the New School for Social Research, Boston University and the Uta Hagen-Herbert Berghof Studio. In addition, he conducted his own acting classes. Outside of Sesame Street, later roles included television movies and a supporting role as the judge in Sidney Lumet's 1983 film Daniel (with Mandy Patinkin, Ed Asner, and Peter Friedman). He also worked in commercials, including a spot for Atari, as a grandfather learning to play Pac-Man from his granddaughter. He also did commercials for Ocean Spray juices.

At age 61, he began acting as Mr. Hooper in 1969 on the show called Sesame Street".

"He gave millions of children the message that the old and the young have a lot to say to each other," said Joan Ganz Cooney, president of the Children's Television Workshop. The New York Times reported that on Sesame Street, Will Lee's Mr. Hooper ranked ahead of all live cast members in recognition by young audiences, according to a then recent survey. His bowtie and hornrimmed reading glasses became his trademark. In a November 1970 TIME article, following the show's successful first season, Lee recalled his feelings about the show:

I was delighted to take the role of Mr. Hooper, the gruff grocer with the warm heart. It's a big part, and it allows a lot of latitude. But the show has something extra, ­that sense you sometimes get from great theater, the feeling that its influence never stops.

In addition to being a staple of Sesame Street for over ten years, Will Lee portrayed Mr. Hooper in television specials (Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, A Special Sesame Street Christmas), guest appearances (Evening at Pops: 1971), stage appearances, countless record albums, and parades, including the 1982 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Lee taped his final segments as Mr. Hooper in November of 1982, but his death would become the focal point of Episode 1839, in which Mr. Hooper's death is explained to Big Bird.

According to the NY Times obit, as he became known on Sesame Street, children would approach him on the street and ask, "How did you get out of the television set?"' or whisper, "I love you." "Apart from the joy of knowing that you are helping so many kids, the recognition is heartwarming," Lee was quoted as saying in 1981.

When Lee died of a heart attack in 1982, it left the producers of Sesame Street, the Children's Television Workshop, with questions about how to acknowledge the death of one of the series' most visible actors. After considering a number of options, CTW decided to have the character of Mr. Hooper die as well, and use the episode to teach its young viewers about death as a natural part of life and that it is OK for everyone—children and adults alike—to grieve when someone they love dies.

Episode 1839, now known to children and fans as "Farewell, Mr. Hooper" was aired on November 24, 1983 (Thanksgiving Day), and was quickly selected by the Daytime Emmys as being one of the 10 most influential moments in daytime television.

[chimchimsauce]

Sanctuary (10)

Summary: YN is a young girl, bright and ambitious, but due to her busy schedule, she’s been unable to make any real friends. When an ad for Saint Mary’s Sanctuary catches her attention, she never expected her life to be changed by a certain hybrid named Jimin.

Tags: @feed-my-geek-soul @raspberryhaterade @dinorahrodriguez @loriosborne @majestikblue @younginfluencernut-blog @jiminotopia @yady24 @amoretti-rossetti  @j-hofe7 @scared-money @alina-foxy @catwhipes @cloudyfelix @justfollowbacon @chims-kookies @hoodiebangtan @xanny91 @catarina-catycaty @lewd-lemon @yaseminflames @lulanii @jeonsdear @omgsasusakulover @let-fred-live @perfectlyfangirling @daddyjoonie @meganleafmusic  @okayjinmin @blueskys-brightstars @boononx  @bubblefishrainbow @scamanderbeasts @cjisluckycharm @artsy-gingersnap  @yoongi-bias @miraiikki@ccocorosie @pauline-pao @skyebloodhood  @mochi-you-are-beautiful @mixedfandxms @vixsynsblog @mypurplelamp @acupoftaewithsuga @xthefuckerysquaredx  

If you’d like to be added to the tag list, comment below!

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Jimin and Taehyung leave before YN wakes up, the former hesitant to go. The wolf hybrid only slinks into the inky night when Taehyung reminds him that there's going to be a search for him and that YN's place would probably be the first place they would check.

The walk to Taehyung’s place is silent, the smell of burned documents fresh in Jimin's nose. YN had drawn up some plans for him moving in, so they had to get rid of the evidence.

The wolf wishes he could have kept a few of them, the thought and care that YN put into trying to save him touching him deeply.

It makes the guilt of hurting her spike up, even though Tae tried his hardest to stamp them down.

So he suffers in silence, nausea splashing around in his stomach.

He'll make it up to her. Even if it takes forever.

Taehyung’s house is not at all what Jimin expected. He thought he'd spend the next part of his life holed up in some small studio apartment, not set up in a penthouse apartment.

The wolf's eyes are alight with questions upon seeing the vast expanse of Taehyung’s home. Before he can ask anything, the smell of another hybrid hits him, causing the man to growl out in warning.

A squeak is heard from the darkness.

Taehyung flips on a light switch, illuminating the entirety of the living space.

Another hybrid eyes Jimin curiously, sniffing in the air slightly. Jimin growls again, recognizing the scent.

A rabbit.

“Hold up, hold up. Before you make him piss his pants, why don't you introduce yourself, wolfy?”

Jimin grimaces at the tasteless nicknames, before mentally smacking himself.

Taehyung is taking him in. Letting him stay with him. He can't make things difficult.

“I . . . sorry. I'm Jimin,” he says, not moving an inch closer to the rabbit.

The other hybrid eyes him wearily.

“Kookie,” Taehyung says in warning, causing the other man to flinch.

“I'm Jungkook. I know who you are,”

Jimin just nods, not questioning it.

“You two better get along. Jimin will be staying here for a while,”

Jimin swallows, already missing YN.

Surprisingly, it only takes the two hybrids two days to become the best of pals.

Jungkook had been upset with Taehyung because he denied the hybrid desert on the terms that Kookie hadn't done his laundry like he was supposed to.

In retaliation, Jungkook had eaten all of the pudding Tae'd made before dinnertime, the evidence of his crime smeared all over his face.

Taehyung got so angry he couldn't even speak properly, stuttering as his face got redder by the second.

They'd both been punished, because Jimin thought it was so funny he spit his milk all over the table, cackling like a witch.

The two hybrids laughed all the way through scrubbing the entire kitchen and cleaning out the fridge, their cheeks sore from laughing so much.

Jungkook kept Jimin occupied during the day, but at night, his thoughts kept returning to him, preventing him from getting a single wink of sleep.

It was always YN. He wondered what she was doing. If she was okay. If she even missed him at all.

They hadn't even had a proper goodbye.

Even Taehyung didn't know what she was up to, as they'd cut off conversation just in case they were being monitored.

Taehyung did know, however, all the news of Saint Mary's. Apparently, the official statement given to the hybrids and the workers was that Jimin had been mentally unwell and had a lapse in sanity, thinking the volunteers were attempting to harm him, causing him to run away.

No one knew he was supposed to be carted off to slaughter.

Unofficially, though, Taehyung found out that the agency was hunting Jimin's tracker down. Or at least, they were, until it flowed from the rapidly moving river into the ocean.

He'd been proclaimed dead.

The news causes Jimin to feel conflicted. On one hand, he's free. Finally. All the baggage and misery can finally turn towards being addressed. He can move on. Make something of himself. But on the other hand, the little identity he had has disappeared.

Who is he, really?

The answer comes exactly three weeks after he’d been freed.

Taehyung comes home in an excited flurry.

“Jimin! Jimin, come quickly!”

Fear shoots up the wolf's spine until he sees the grin on the man's face  

“What? What is it?”

“Congratulations,” he says, a smile wide on his face, shoving a manila folder into the hybrids hands.

Jimin opens it, shaking slightly as he reads the words on the page.

Taehyung extends his hand out.

“Nice to meet you, I'm Kim Taehyung,”

The wolf grins brighter than he ever has before.

“Nice to meet you, Taehyung. I'm Park Jimin,”

Chapter Eleven

[blue---rose]

White Widow - Chapter 2

Fanfiction.net | AO3

Title: White Widow Chapter: Two Author: Blue Rose Rating: M (Hard R) Pairing: Sasuke/Sakura Summary: "Running away was easy; not knowing what to do next was the hard part." - Sakura needed to stop fantasizing about running away to some other life, and start figuring out the one she had. [Sasu/Saku, Modern AU]

Warnings: Adult Content Disclaimer: I own nothing, and I damn sure don't make a single red cent for this either. So please, don't sue the Blue

Author Notes: If you like please don't forget to review/comment/like. A very special thank you to my amazing beta: MySoberThoughts

･ﾟ* : *ﾟ･

He looked down between them and decided… it was one of the most foolish things he ever did in his entire life. The air rushed past his lips and his whole body strained for some measure of control, but watching himself as he took her was stripping any discipline he possessed. He wanted to savor this conquest, as barbaric as it sounded. It truly was the only word his muddled brain could come up with, to describe how it felt… to be able to get this close to someone like her, to have been deemed worthy enough to allow him into her bed, inside of her…

The groan he released did not cover the sound of them joining, his hips pulling away and... Gods... he could see how she covered him. The neighboring apartments and full moon cast the room in shadows, but through the dim light, he sees everything.

Her essence on his length as he began to move quicker…

The beautiful arch of her back…

The thick, wild mane that almost glowed peach against the sheets…

It became easier as they went along, moving together so fluently they could have been mistaken for long-time lovers; companions that had spent countless nights together, getting to know every dip and curve… every hidden crevice.

His patience in the beginning with her … taking his sweet time… allowing her to adjust and succumb to the pleasure that raced down to her toes, was paying off. She moaned beneath him, her body moving with a hypnotic, feline grace as she followed his lead. She yielded to him, offering herself…

…if he promised to keep taking care of her, like his sinful eyes had sworn to her that they would… she would give him anything he wanted at all… all night, for as long as he demanded it. The unspoken way his body communicated with her, all the ways he could make her feel… and all the things he could do, if only she would let him.

He was trying to fulfill that promise now. Shifting his hold, he moved at a faster pace, eager to show her all the ways he could make her sing for him. She was mistaken if she thought the little mews coming from her full lips would placate him for long.

Hands grasping, slipping across soft skin as she all but purred, green eyes finally meeting his own over her shoulder… looking at him in a way that had him aching… straining… just for her, and his lips pulled back, mouth opening to tell her just how fucking good she was being to him right now and he-

･ﾟ* : *ﾟ･

He awoke as his throat closed, cutting off the groan that was rising from his heaving chest. Sweat cooled on his forehead and pecs, the tank top sticking to his skin as he kicked the blankets off with a huff. His pulsing erection throbbed against his lower belly and he shut his eyes once more. He didn't have to check the time to know it was still very early. It was still dark out, but in a few minutes the predawn, morning sky would give way to streaks of blues and greys. His heart was still beating fast, as his mind scrambled to retain the images from the dream.

' Not just a dream though… was it? ', he thought.

Sasuke frowned, not liking the interruption from sleep the dream had caused… especially regarding that. Fuck, he was way too old for this shit… hardly an adolescent. He supposed it made sense though. It's not like these thoughts were just randomly populating. She was back, it seemed. And seeing her, standing there… no matter how fleeting, was bound to stir up memories of their last encounter together before she disappeared.

Damn, she looked good... really good. Standing there, tall boots hugging the edge of her thighs … looking so beautiful… with those legs that went on for days, and every inch of exposed skin sent heat racing through his veins. He sighed, running his hand across his face before running blunt nails across his scalp in frustration.

' Doesn't mean I have to like it. '

Accepting that he would not be going back to sleep anytime soon; he sat up, swinging his legs so his feet touched the floor… running a hand through his midnight locks again, body still humming. His only options were to either go for a run… or take a cold shower. His eyes flickered down, taking stock of his calming length, beneath his sleepwear and decided… some air would do him good.

By the time he rounded the corner at the end of his block, the playlist he selected on his phone was two songs in… and he had faith that, the repetitive pounding of his feet on the pavement would drive out any lingering thoughts of a girl that made it clear she did not want to be thought of, or chased.

At least for now…

There would be some time, coming soon he was sure… that would allow them to settle up, and actually, talk. And this time, she wouldn't go running off to some random airport gate to board a plane, before then… he'd make sure of it.

He was not someone to be ignored, as she'd soon come to know… even if she learned that lesson the hard way.

Sakura Haruno now had his full attention.

:✧･ ﾟ･*･ﾟ･✧ B R✧･ﾟ･*･ﾟ ･✧:

"Oh, I wish you'd visited the Manila Ocean Park while you were there. I'm telling you, it is absolutely amazing. Your father took me there a few years back." Mebuki said as all three ladies made their way outside. They had just all but gorged themselves on French Toast and mimosas, chatting half the morning away in the little café.

The older Haruno fussed over her daughter constantly, not missing a moment to inquire about her health… as well as her dating life. Only her mother could squeeze in talks about home cooked meals and husbands randomly, despite the topic of conversation. She tried to brush her off like normal, insisting that her job left little to no time for finding dates lately… or whipping together three-course meals every night.

"It's not like I'm going on a girl's trip. I don't go there to visit museums and beaches. I'm working."

"I know, I know. That doesn't mean you can't take care of yourself. Your health is important, you know that. I swear, if I didn't know for a fact you can cook more than microwavable meals, you'd put me in an early grave. I worry about you Sakura." She cupped her daughter's soft cheek, frowning in concern.

She really was proud of the work her daughter was doing with a small humanitarian group, the small organization was a branch of Doctors Without Borders. That did not take away the uneasiness she felt whenever her only child went abroad; sometimes to war-torn nations to lend aid, spreading health awareness and overall helping and doing good. Her concerns were only put to rest when, and ONLY when she heard her daughter's voice over the phone during a scheduled check-in, or… more importantly; when she was back in her home town… close enough to touch and hug and smoother with affection.

Sakura smiled, reaching up to cradle the warm hand still pressed against her face.

"Momma…" She gave her hand a squeeze before lowering both of them. "I'm fine… really. I eat, and not just junk food and grease. I promise."

"She has been eating salads and lots of lean protein since she's been home this time, Scouts Honor." Ino pipped up from behind them, slipping her sunglasses over her eyes. Sakura turned back to her mother.

"See?"

"Neither of you were girl scouts. We couldn't even get you two to join the Brownies because of the uniform color, remember? It wasn't 'in season' at the time." She deadpanned. Ino just cracked a smile at the memory.

Mebuki turned and swept Sakura up in a hug, squeezing just a bit too tight… but it warmed her heart, because it reminded her of the giant hugs her Dad still gave out, and she returned the tenderness eagerly. "I miss you so much. You really need to come home more often." She pulled back, catching her eyes before she could look away.

"And not just to your apartment, in the city… but home. You need to make more of an effort Sakura. Thanksgiving was the last time you set foot there, wasn't it? Such a long time ago. I know it's been difficult, and I completely understand-"

"Momma-"

"I mean it." There was a sharpness that entered her voice and had her back straightening. Her mother was not one to repeat herself, and when she did… you'd had better shut up and listen. That all, too familiar tone was hard wired in her brain, and even adulthood could not erase it. It was the language between a parent and child, and Sakura buttoned up immediately. "I know your father will be away for a while on business, but I'm still there. Your home, is still there, and you'd best make your way there to come see us… and sometime soon."

Green eyes were intently focused on her, and Sakura just knew; if they'd been somewhere more secluded, then standing on the sidewalk in DuPont Circle… they would indeed be having whatever discussion Mebuki felt was long overdue. Thank goodness for old school parents, who thought heavy conversations were best done privately.

Cracking a smile, and in an attempt to reset the mood; Mebuki changed the subject to Sakura's dating life.

"Hmmm, maybe you could bring that Managing Director home next time, for dinner. What was his name?" They walked her to her car, but Sakura stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, a muscle in her jaw twitched.

"…Dr. Dan? My boss?" She could not be serious.

"What a nice young man he is." Mebuki sang as she fished out her car keys.

"…He's my boss." Sakura deadpanned.

"You two could be discrete. Is such a thing, against company policy or guidelines?"

"Ew." Ino muttered, deciding to sit this one out. Sakura needed to fight her own battles.

"He's my mentor's fiancé, Momma", Sakura shook her head. Mebuki unlocked her car doors when they arrived to her parking spot, chuckling while pulling both girls close.

"It was just a thought. Anyways…I'll see you girls soon. I have a few stops to make in Georgetown before heading back. Sakura, you make sure to call me tonight, hmm? Love you girls!" One last departing kiss on the cheek and she was off, the little two-door coupe pulled away into traffic, leaving the duo standing there, a slight breeze brushing past them.

Ino turned to Sakura while pushing a few golden strains behind her ear. "Want to grab a drink?" Sakura's eyes widened, checking the time on her phone… confirming her suspicions.

"It's not even noon yet." She conveniently left out the fact that they just downed a few glasses of orange juice and champagne not too long ago.

"Ugh, whatever. Coffee then." She relinquished, leading her across the street to cut through the park, to grab a cup. She wasn't ready to part ways and wanted to spend as much time as she could with her best friend. "So… anything new? Other than 'Sexy Dan the Man', are there… any other guys I should know about?"

"You are horrible at being subtle; you do know that… right?"

"Then don't make me continue on with this charade and finally give me the 'deets I've been dying to get, for well over four months. And please, don't spare the horrid details. Because you owe me Hurano!" Did she even take a moment to breathe during all of that?

They took a seat in the outdoor patio area, enjoying the slightly warmer, spring weather the weekend ushered in. It was pretty nice out, with the sun making an appearance here and there despite the overcast. That didn't stop her expression from closing up, not quite sure how she wanted to approach the subject. It was at that moment she realized, she never really allowed herself to think about it. As crazy as it sounded, she was successful with her intentions of distraction over the last few months, and had not dwelled on the unknowns she'd left behind.

"There's not much to say. It was just a hook-up. Nothing special."

"Nothing special?" Ino echoed, after giving their coffee orders to the petite waitress.

"It was either So-God-Awful that you needed to run away, almost halfway across the world to escape the disappointment, OR-"

Her eyes lit up, gleaming with realization.

"It was good. Really good. And maybe… that scared you? I know you… and I have a funny feeling this was something loooooooong in the making you sneaky, sneaky girl. So what happened? You tried to ignore-", her hand waved in the air in Sakura's general direction, "-whatever has been building for a while… then… what? It all came to a head one crazy night of hormones?"

"And morning." She had no idea she spoke out loud until Ino gasped, recognition dawning across her pretty features.

"You whore!"

Aaaaaaaaand thank goodness that; despite it being a wonderful Saturday morning, the coffee shop was not packed, and no one was sitting close enough to clearly hear the outburst. Sakura still sunk down further in her seat and wished she was wearing one of the fitted caps hanging in her closet; she could at least, have pulled it low over her head and pretend to disappear for a while.

Two steaming cups were placed in front of them both, and the waitress tried unsuccessfully to hide her smile. She heard enough, to not meet Sakura's eyes, and said to let her know if they needed anything else. "Yes… please, be louder. I don't think they quite heard you in the back." She scolded when they were left alone. Ino waved her hand dismissively, blowing the hot liquid in her cup. Manicured nails tapped the porcelain rhythmically.

"Why had I not seen it? I got zero vibes from either of you, even leading up to it. I saw you over Thanksgiving break and you didn't say a word. I can't believe you tried to keep this from me." Ah, there it was… the bit of hurt finally peeking through. Sakura's gaze softened.

"This wasn't an ongoing thing, it only happened on New Years. I mean, I always thought he was kind of hot, but I never thought to act on anything. I mean, sure we've all been around each other but that was it, really. He was just one of Kiba's 'work friends'. You know that." There was no secret love affair that carried on for months, right under everyone's noses. It was much simpler than that.

"It wasn't…planned." She continued, her hand reaching up to graze the industrial piercing in her ear, a nervous habit. "I was just confused, after. I was still trying to figure some stuff out, and didn't want to make a bigger deal out of what happened, than it already was. Last year, everytime I saw him… I don't know. I just began to pay a little more attention to him then I should have. I don't think he knew, though. At least, I don't think he did. I just kept teasing myself with the thought, but never acted until…"

A sharp gleam entered her ocean colored eyes. "He didn't blow you off, did he? After… I mean."

"No! No… nothing like that. I promise." The killing intent bled away from the blonde's aura, but Sakura tried to put her completely at ease. "I'm serious. I mean, he had to leave after… and it was kind of awkward…-"

"Awkward enough for you; to hop on a plane, twenty-four hours later? To the Philippines?"

"That's not fair. That trip was planned and booked, even before I came home the first time, on Thanksgiving. We made it to France before turning around because of the delay. I figured I'd come home for a bit, while waiting. It's the only reason why I was in the city at all, remember? It just so happen we got word the very next day, after… you know…" She cupped her hands around the hot mug, the warmth seeping into her chilled digits. "When the embassy cleared us, we had to go."

Trailing a fingernail around the rim of her expresso, Ino bit her lip. She sighed, before leaning in.

"He asked about you."

"W-…What?"

Another sigh… before-

"I guess this was a few days after? He came with Kiba to a party. I don't know him that well, but I knew something was up. He never asked about you before then… so why start now? You dodging my texts and calls all but confirmed it for me. I knew something was up." Ino smiled. "I let it slip to Kiba, but he was utterly clueless."

Sakura rested her chin on her fist, elbow propped on the table in a way that would have Mebuki scolding her for lack of manners.

"Tall, rude bastard wouldn't squeal, either. 'Mind your business, Yamanaka', he said. Hah! As if! He should have minded his business... kept his ankle-spanker in his pants, and away from my poor, little, naïve friend." She huffed. The look on Sakura's face was priceless. She wasn't sure what she was about to say, but Ino cut her off. "So you iced him out after, huh? Is that it? That's what happened?"

Sakura shifted in her seat, lashes fluttering as she blinked, picking at the crisp white table cloth.

"He did try to call… sent texts too. I just…" She nibbled on her bottom lip. "It's just that… this was the first time I'd been with anyone since…you know… 'him'. And not just making out, but like… all the way."

Her eyes glinted briefly.

"I don't know… I just let it all get to my head, you know? Making a big deal out of nothing… over thinking everything… getting worked up and-"

She was going to give herself a headache if she kept this up. The more she said out loud, the crazier she thought she sounded. Especially now, when she was forced to face the hidden, deeper issues… things she'd dropped and left in her past.

"Look… we're friends. I love you… so much, you know that. You can tell me anything, and even though it might come off that way… I'm not judging, ok?" A brief pause had her meeting her gaze. "I just don't want you to get in the habit of running, every time something happens. Sometimes, you have to stay and deal with it. And I also don't want you to keep things in."

Sakura winced, immediately on the defensive.

"…That's not fair."

"No… maybe it's not. But it doesn't make it any less true."

"One has nothing to do with the other." She knew where this was going, and she didn't like it. Not one bit.

"You rarely go home…" Ah, and there it was.

"And that makes me a bad person?" Sakura countered, heart rate starting to elevate.

"No-"

"You know why…"

"I know-".

"You fucking know why." She whispered. The unshed tears began to burn, and she blinked rapidly. She tried to take a breath, the air getting caught in her throat and she tried to calm down.

She was quite surprised to find herself so upset… so quickly.

Gods, does that make her such a bad person? Does that make her such a bad person because she didn't want to go home that often… only to be reminded of-

"Can I get you ladies anything else?" The waitress returned, refreshing their water glasses.

"The check please, thanks." Ino replied, reaching under the table to grasp Sakura's knee. The pinkette grabbed her napkin, discreetly wiping the corner of her eyes. When they were left alone once again, Ino gave her a small smile. "I didn't mean to upset you. You know I want to see you happy. That's all… I promise. It just worries me sometimes that you keep a lot bottled in. I don't ever want you to think that you can't come to me."

Gathering her composure, she nodded. She knew Ino was coming from a good place, knew what type of person she was, and where her intentions lie. She returned her smile, letting her know that all was forgiven, even if they agreed to disagree for now.

"So…" The corners of her mouth turned up, the lopsided grin giving her away before she could continue.

"How was it? I hope he knew what he was doing with that thing, and wasn't just mindlessly shoving away."

Sakura almost choked on the still heated coffee, glaring at her around a cough, her throat unconstricting. "Should I even ask how you would know something like that?"

Ino just rolled her eyes.

"Grey sweatpants; last October. You know I don't miss a thing." She winked, as if that explained anything. "Now, back on topic. Was it good? It must have been good for him, to have come to me, asking about you. That's my girl. Been off the pony for a while, but saddled up like a pro!"

Maybe… just maybe, getting up and leaving the table was the best option. It would surely spare any more embarrassment than she already felt.

The waitress returned with Sakura's credit card and receipt, while Ino excused herself to take a trip to the ladies room. Sakura's phone vibrated, and she swiped right to unlock and answer the device without looking, signing her name on the slip of paper in front of her.

"Hello?"

"…Hello?" Sakura tried again, only hearing a faint melody in the background, before the call ended. Looking at the screen, she didn't have long to dwell on the call before Ino made her return to stand next to the table, one hip poked out to the side as she tapped away on her own phone.

"Hey, what are you doing tonight?"

Sakura stood as well, the call from the unlisted number quickly fading from memory. Her eyes lowered in thought. "Not sure… I don't think I had anything planned. Why?"

"Ten-Ten is in town this weekend. We are so going out tonight." She was already leading the way down the street, to where they parked. Even in sneakers, Sakura was hard pressed to keep up… increasing her pace, calling out for her to wait up.

"I'm going to call Chino; see if she can fit us in for blowouts, right now."

:✧･ ﾟ･*･ﾟ･✧ B R✧･ﾟ･*･ﾟ ･✧:

His body felt strangely cold; despite the fact heat was drifting across him, from the fireplace. There was this persistent, ringing in his ear and he couldn't tell if the noise really was loud… or it was just something he was focused acutely on, instead of the pain.

' Fuck. '

It really hurt to breathe. It felt more like a chore, than a life necessity. A thump could be heard somewhere in the home, but he didn't trust himself to accurately locate where it was coming from. He could gauge that he was tired as hell, and wondered just how long his eyes were previously closed before he opened them (barely)… just a few moments ago. His phone flickered to life, making him squint at the cracked screen. Bloody fingers reached out across the wooden floor, moving slowly… barely able to manage a grip on the device to pull it closer.

Message:

"Dear Valued Customer, it has come to our attention-"

His eyes blurred again, and he blinked hard, twice.

Message:

"-ause of this, we have reversed the following transaction-"

Dark eyes skimmed the text. His thumb pressing a box on the screen.

Message:

"Confirm Transaction Reversal?"

A new payee was chosen; one from recent history near the top of the list, and the selection was quickly made. He accepted the changes, his breath beginning to rattle in his lungs. His fingers scrolled across the screen, trying to press the correct characters. The emoji options came into view; an array of colorful option to choose from. They weren't needed however, and his fumbling fingers tried to get the device to switch back to the qwerty keyboard layout.

He was unsuccessful, and finally choose one as his eyes began to feel heavy.

Message:

"-re about to transfer all available funds. Are you sure?"

The green button was pressed.

Message:

"Transaction Complete"

His fingers begin to cramp, trying to hold his hand steady before he gave in. He let the device go, landing face down on the cracked screen just as he heard muffled footsteps approaching. His chest tightened as he let out a wet cough; his eyes closing for what he thought would only be a moment. He just needed to rest, just for a minute, and he would feel better… he was sure. The room stopped spinning just before darkness claimed him again.

END CHAPTER

Next: Chapter Three

[hsinyukao-blog]

A WALK TO BRGY 261 ZONE 24 DISTRICT II

Hazard Identification 

Typhoons cause more death and destruction in the Philippines than any other type of natural disaster because of the geographical location of the Philippines. Of the roughly 20 typhoons that enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility every year, a quarter are destructive. Northern Luzon is particularly hard-hit by storms. Metro Manila is regularly exposed to typhoons, floods, and potential earthquakes. Landslide will rarely/never occur since there is no high grounds of land in Metro Manila. Tsunami will barely affect our area since the Philippines are rarely be hit by tsunamis. Fire can occur at any time due to different reasons like accidents and since the Philippines itself is a hot country. Volcanic eruption will also not affect our area since there are no volcanoes around. There are government agencies and alerts send out to places that will be affected by natural calamities but some occur suddenly, therefore, increasing death rates and destruction. 

Vulnerability, Elements, and People at Risk Assessment

I think Metro Manila will be the most devastated area in the Philippines when hit by natural calamities due to the tall buildings, clogged waterways, dirty bodies of water, and tangled electrical wires. The most vulnerable persons to these calamities will be elderly people, people with disabilities, kids and the unfortunate poor peoples. Elderly, disabled persons and kids will have a hard time moving themselves since they don’t have a strong physique, they don’t have the right and sufficient knowledge and need people’s help. Unfortunate people's houses are made up of frail materials therefore easy to destroy, their location is also not a good place, and they don’t have money to recover from the damages. 

When natural calamities strike, the economy of the country would drop since the place cannot function properly, damages would be too difficult to recover from and there would be not enough resources. A place with no tall buildings around would be the safest, high ground and flat place. A place with vulnerable buildings and low ground areas would be most vulnerable to disasters. The problem that barangays face the most would be the people, people who are ignorant, people who do not listen and people who cannot follow. Barangay officials will have a hard time with these people when a calamity will strike since they are not following the proper protocols or they don’t have the right knowledge when it comes to these things. 

Capacity and Disaster Management Assessment

First are the responders when calamities strike, they are trained and know what to do during disasters. Barangay officials take pro-active measures and intensify their preparations against disasters. Part of this is to conduct vulnerability assessment wherein officials identify the hazards in the area as well as the number of people who will be directly affected by disasters and list the appropriate interventions to address such scenarios like designating a safe evacuation center. Prevention measures are also done to minimize disaster impacts. Earthquake drills, fire drills, flood control measures, planting trees and solid waste management programs are conducted to prevent large costs destruction. Our barangay has the right equipment and devices when the time comes that disasters strike. The evacuation place for our barangay is an open space and wide parking lot. The BDRRM Plan and Hazard and Safety Map were with the secretary whom I have not had the chance to meet. Some barangay projects include feeding programs for the children, sports and development program, clean and beautification, health and sanitary, peace and order, medicine drives among many more. When disasters strike, some equipments include rain boots during flood season, inflatable boats, fire trucks during fire, and ambulance during emergencies. The first aid kit was also available at the barangay office. Radios are also available when telecommunications are down. A place can survive when the people in it help each other

Reflection

People who are ignorant and people who don’t follow rules. People don’t know yet the seriousness of the problem and don’t take things seriously until they personally experience these themselves. They can conduct monthly meetings with representatives and those representatives will be the ones to talk to each member of the barangay. Disasters in our country are very devastating since our country is not developed and is considered a poor country. The geographical location of the Philippines, located along the western segment of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the most active part of the Earth characterized by an ocean encircling belt of active volcanoes and earthquake generators. It is also situated at the junction of two large converging tectonic plates - the Pacific Plate and the Eurasian plate which causes destructive earthquakes in the country. I have learned a lot of things I have yet to know regarding safety plans in our barangay. I didn’t know that the evacuation center was in the parking lot. I am also not aware of the projects of the barangay. I also didn’t notice that our barangay got cleaner and was less flooded due to the cleaning and unclogging of waterways. We need to address the disasters in the country because it will soon happen and we never know when, therefore, we should be ready for it to lessen the casualties and damages. We can address it by creating programs and seminars that help us to gain knowledge about these things. As a student, we can help in small ways like this activity by the NSTP which we can be fully oriented, informed and trained to these kinds of disasters and risks. We create these portfolios to help share knowledge and give back to the barangay of our opinions so that we can find better and better solutions each time.

[maristlbj-blog]

“THE PMA MASIDLAWIN CLASS OF 2020 STRIKES MANILA”

The PMA MASIDLAWIN CLASS OF 2020 had just concluded their INTERDISCIPLINARY TOUR which is a part of their academic curriculum during their second class year in PMA. The INTERDISCIPLINARY TOUR is an annual activity of the second class and third class cadets, wherein cadets will visit historical and conservation sites to enhance the cadets learning on history and the environment. To LEARN is the primary objective of the tour and somehow to give the cadets time to relax and enjoy while learning.

The cadets visited the Manila Ocean Park which is the only oceanarium in Manila. It is located behind the Rizal Park and the Quirino Grandstand. The park was constructed on 2007 and opened on March 2008. It houses 14,000 sea creatures which are all indigenous in Southeast Asia. It also houses land creatures which are only limited in numbers. It is a famous tourist attraction and the park is visited by tourists and used for educational purposes such as student field trips.

the Philippine Eagle is now an endangered species... 

The Manila Ocean Park is not only an attraction but also it’s a conservation for animals. The park also showcases animals that are saved from harm like poachers. The park is home to many animals that are near to extinction. The researchers in the park are keeping these animals saved from extinction. They reproduce these animals through natural and artificial reproduction.

There are many fishes present in the oceanarium such as FRESHWATER organisms like:

1. Giant Moray Eel - are a family of eels whose members are found worldwide. The approximately 200 species in 15 genera are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water, and a few are found in fresh water. 2. Giant Grouper - is the largest bony fish found in coral reefs, and the aquatic emblem of Queensland. 3. Yellowtail Fusilier -  is a pelagic marine fish belonging to the  family Caesionidae. 4. Bat-fish -  is a genus of Indo-Pacific, reef-associated fish belonging to the family Ephippidae. There are currently five known extant species generally accepted to belong to the genus. They are one of the fish taxa commonly known as "batfish". 5. Golden Trevally -  is a species of large marine fish classified in the jack and horse mackerel family Carangidae, and the only member of the genus Gnathanodon. 6. Redtoothed triggerfish -  is a triggerfish of the tropical Indo-Pacific area, and the sole member of its genus. 7. Unicorn Tang -  is a tang from the Indo-Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 70 cm in length. It is called kala in Hawaiian, and dawa in New Caledonia. 8. Snapper -  is a species of snapper native to the western Atlantic Ocean including the Gulf of Mexico, where it inhabits environments associated with reefs. This species is commercially important and is also sought-after as a game fish. 9. Napoleon Wrasse - is a species of wrasse mainly found on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. 10. Spotted Eagle Ray -  is a cartilaginous fish of the eagle ray family, Myliobatidae. As traditionally recognized, it is found globally in tropical regions, including the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.

there are also SALTWATER organisms present in the oceanarium such as:

1. White Tip Sharks - is a large pelagic requiem shark inhabiting tropical and warm temperate seas. Its stocky body is most notable for its long, white-tipped, rounded fins. 2. Black Tip Sharks - is a species of requiem shark, and part of the family Carcharhinidae. 3. Jenkins Stingrays - is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, with a wide distribution in the Indo-Pacific region from South Africa to the Malay Archipelago to northern Australia.   4. Moon Jellies - is a widely studied species of the genus Aurelia. All species in the genus are closely related, and it is difficult to identify Aurelia medusae without genetic sampling; most of what follows applies equally to all species of the genus. 5. Humboldt Penguins - is a South American penguin that breeds in coastal Chile and Peru. Its nearest relatives are the African penguin, the Magellanic penguin and the Galápagos penguin.   6. Clown Fish - are fishes from the subfamily Amphiprioninae in the family Pomacentridae. 7. Spiny Sea horse - also referred to as the thorny seahorse, is a marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae, native from the Indo-Pacific area. 8. Sea Lions - are sea mammals characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short, thick hair, and a big chest and belly. 9. Sea Turtles - are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. 10. Pajama Cardinal Fish -  is a species of fish belonging to the family Apogonidae. It is a popular aquarium fish.

TRIVIA:

The City of Manila... What a place. the city life the bright lights the noise the pollution. Metro Manila is the central city of the Philippines. It is full of commercial buildings and structures. Its environment is different than the others because it is lacking of trees which makes the city warmer. Trees were cut down for commercial spaces and subdivisions. There is always consequences when you deal with mother nature. Manila is home to some stray animals like dogs, cats, rats, squirrels and foxes. You can found them anywhere walking in the street or hiding in the corner looking for garbage as food. 

Since Manila is full of infrastructures the soil is also affected by buildings being build in all areas. Factories in the area can cause pollution to the soil, destroying the ecosystem in cities. These factories also produce chemicals into the air polluting the air that we breathe in. This can cause people to get sick and infected. The noise pollution is very present in the area which makes living here uncomfortable.

In Metro Manila, the climate is hot. Even at night it is very hot. This happens because of lacking of trees in the area. Trees were cut down to create buildings, this will cause the increase in heat because no trees will absorb the heat of the area. 

Metro Manila is the central city of the Philippines. This means that this is the center of economic transactions in the country. But did you know that the current situation in Manila can improve our economy and also our lives. Solar power can be a good source of energy in Manila by providing solar panels for electricity production. This will lessen the power consumed by providing solar power to replace it. Buses will be provided to lessen car consuming activities in Metro Manila. It will decrease the production of carbon dioxide from cars. Natural gases can be made by dumps to provide an alternative source of gas to be used in day to day living.

So this trip is very memorable to me. I learned a lot in this trip. This trip makes me realized how grateful that we are alive. We are shown to the beauty of God’s creation. His magnificent grace is very alive in our hearts and eyes. The animals are very fantastic which some of them I only saw for the first time because of this trip. This trip makes us also more responsible for our environment, since it is in our hands the future of our planet. Each of us are responsible to our environment. We must save our planet while we still can. We must protect and conserve our endangered animals before they will go extinct. I also realized that I don’t want to live in the city. I came from a province and I can really compared the life in the city and the province. I learned a lot in this trip. It is an eye opening for me to see the current situation in our environment and our country. As future leaders of the AFP, it is our duty to serve and protect not only the people but also our environment. Anyone can be a savior of our planet. First, we should start it with ourselves. Then everything will come by. GOD BLESS to everyone :) 

-LOBATON, 2019